Fossils maps the interlinked logics of extraction at work in ecological collapse and the exploitation of human capital across three short live vignettes. It seeks to challenge both the fatalism of seeing capitalism as a force of nature and the vitalism of imagining nature without humans. The monologue of a decaying skeleton attempting to unionise his undead comrades reflects on class (de)composition. Two decoy trees, echoing the arboreal observation posts of the first world war, reflect on the way humans project meaning onto their natural environment. A many-headed oil spill mediates these perspectives: it is legion, a multitude at once demonic and pathetic, declaiming market values and anticipating their apocalyptic end. Together, these scenes from the near future explore the ways in which value extraction is intensified as new sources of growth become scarce. They examine the relationship between acting and actants, between theatre as a space for representation and performance as a site of action. Deploying Brechtian performance strategies, they stage a demand for collectivity and solidarity in a diminished public sphere.
The project was developed across several iterations, from a live performance as part of Art of Management & Organization, Liverpool, under the title United Dead Labour, which was performed at the Stanley Theatre, Liverpool Guild and then for a solo show, also titled Fossils, at Pastor Projects, Tecate, Mexico, where it was show as a 360 VR film. The final version, at Chemist Gallery, London, features Casper Dillen, Anouska Manion, Allan Struthers, Eleanor Tennyson, Kerttuli Uusimies and Frank Wasser as Mr. Skeleton. Fossils also includes live music by Will Fraser, choreography by Casper Dillen and prop assistance by Teal Griffin. Documentation filmed by Roman Sheppard Dawson.
Fossils has been made possible with kind support from the UAL Staff Research Fund and Royal College of Art Research Knowledge Exchange.
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