Nick Tobier and Emilia White Bring Relics to Life in Chicago

Stamps Professor Nick Tobier and Stamps Lecturer Emilia White were both selected as part of the exhibit/​performance project What Remains, at DFBRL8R, also known as Defibrillator Gallery, in Chicago. What Remains has taken place in four chapters, beginning February 7 and concluding February 28, 2020 at Defibrillator’s former home in Noble Square. Now ARC Gallery, the Noble Square storefront is located at 1463 W Chicago Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. 

What Remains explores the connection between performance and relic. Instigator and artist Ieke Trinks conceived of a curatorial project that would speak to the challenges of keeping records of live performances beyond the dominant and didactic lens of video and photographic documentation. The project is structured around proposals from artists to re-interpret the relics in the Defibrillator object archive and provide a framework for reconceptualizing their value and meaning through new works. What Remains tackles several questions, including: What impact does history have on a performance object’s status? What value does an object have when it is not specifically an artwork itself, or not intended to be, but is now being framed as such? How much will the relic tell us about the performance for which it was originally used? What is the purpose and value of the collection?

Nick Tobier’s project, All the Brooms, provoked by relic #104, is part of the opening Chapter 1, Fixing. Emilia White’s project is prompted by the relic of a green inflatable boat that is part of Chapter 4, Consume.

What Remains is curated by Ieke Trinks, an artist living and working in the Netherlands and is hosted by Defibrillator Gallery. 

Defibrillator Gallery is an international platform for Performance Art known for bold and courageous programming that aims to provoke thought and stimulate discourse surrounding experimental time-based practices. DFBRL8R actively contributes to a global dialogue about conceptual, ephemeral, or enigmatic modes of expression – aiming to raise awareness, appreciation, and respect for the discipline of Performance Art.