This is an on going performative enquiry into hysteria and its history, with experiments in photography, performance for camera and interactive installation.

 

Chiron has a particular interest in Jean- Martin Charcot, who studied, defined and propagated the female disease, 'Hysteria' through the staging and creation of images of his patients in the Iconographie photographique de la Salptrire.  Chiron was drawn to the story of Augustine featured in these images, as well as the fugue state and was invited to undertake a residency with Forest Fringe during Edinburgh fringe 2015 to have space to undertake some initial experiments for this new interdisciplinary project

 

HYSTERIA (NOUN)

1. Exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement

2. an old fashioned term for a psychological disorder characterised by conversion of psychological stress into physical symptoms (somatisation) or a change in self-awareness (such as a fugue state or selective amnesia).

 

FUGE (DISSOCIATIVE STATE)

1. a rare psychiatric disorder charactersed by reversible amnesia for personal identity, including the memories, personality, and other identifying characteristics of individuality.

 

FUGE (MUSICAL COMPOSITION)

2. In music  a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and recurs frequently in the course of the composition

 

EQUIPMENT

Loop Pedal, Speakers, Microphone, Clarinet, Guitar

 

INVITATION

Close you eyes.

Remember a photo you have taken, but are not in - describe it. Zoom out remember your hands, remember you, describe who you were, what you were feeling.

Change that memory into a style of music

 

PERFORMANCE RULES

Make original loop in the style of music suggested, exploring fugue compositional techniques

Use verbatim text from audiences memory

Mix with story of Augustine

And cut up my written text

Do no predetermine order - listen