late tate x hervisions

Finally made it to a Late Tate, luckily this one was hosted by HERVISIONS, founded by UAL Tutor, Zaiba Jabbar.

Walking into Tate Britain, I was instantly charmed by all the movement, the artists, and artist affiliates coming out in their artsy attire to see art. I showed up unsure how to participate but quickly found my footing.

There were two performances taking place, both very different but relevant to my practice.

Downstairs, right to the side of the staircase was a live DJ set accompanied by an MC hosted by Reprezent Radio. Instantly, I felt an ode to the Hip Hop origins that birthed the modern day art of ‘rap’. Behind the decks was two Black femmes raising the vibrations through sound in exchange for movement.

Pure instrumentation had us all in a trance, that is the power of performance. As a performer you have the ability to capture the attention of your audience. And in order to do that, you need a physical body. You need movement. Our eyes and ears follow your lead as you take us on the journey you’ve planned for us. My physical body talking, dancing, shouting, emoting is an instrument. Our bodies are the instruments that make all instruments work. There is a connection between the mind’s command and its domination over the flesh.

Are we machines? I thought while watching Nina Davies’ Bionic Step. I sat on the ballroom floor to watch humans mimic machines. The human body following the commands of a robot moving in front of screens in front of a live audience. And I wondered would this be as interesting if this was just robots making these movements? For me, the presence of flesh adds an additional layer of inquiry. I more interested in the relationship between humans and technology than technology itself. The flesh also serves as a reminder that this is labor.

Recognizing that performance is a form of mind control informs my practice. For that, I am cautious of implementing machine learning and AI into my performances. However, watching the performances inspired me to have larger conversations in my work. I don’t have to be ANTI-AI, but I can use these tools to challenge their use.

References

Tate. (2025). Late at Tate Britain. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/late-at-tate-britain[Accessed 20 May 2025].

Next
Next

research salon session one