Spit-Girl-Contest
Sarah Cole
2002
Digitally constructed laser print from video of same name 2000

Sarah Cole’s site-specific installations disrupt everyday objects and occurrences to raise issues around behaviour and taboo. Often working collaboratively with groups and institutions, Cole has lipstick-kissed windows at The Economist 1994, created a wall of fluff in a London launderette for the Serpentine gallery 1997, and ritually burnt matchstick beds at St Thomas' Hospital in the group show 'Disorders', 1996.

Cole presents a series of photographs in the canteen at LSHTM. These images are a transcript of the video 'spit-girl-contest', made in collaboration with two teenagers during the project Shout - Voices From the Edge, with BoxClever Theatre Company, 2000. The girls are engaged in a competition to beat each other through fluid saturation. The images are sexually ambiguous, and raise questions about pleasure, contamination and the permeability of boundaries.

Sarah Cole intends for this work to be viewed in association with a performance in the Manson Lecture Theatre. Developing ideas through discussions with MSc and PhD students over a period of several weeks, Cole and her collaborators will present the result of their investigations on the night of the private view. The performance will involve a sequence of mock-experiments, incorporating found equipment and inviting audience participation. Documentation from this event will be displayed throughout the duration of the show.

Her recent work includes Blindspot, Look Ahead Housing & Care, London; a collaborative video installation made with artist Andrew Fisher and the residents of Castle Lane Drugs & Alcohol Misuse Unit, from October 2001 to January 2002. The piece (working title) Watching Walk, Compton Verney, Warwickshire will involve the creation of a ‘walk’ within the former estate of Compton Verney. This commission, taking place from January 2002 to October 2002, involves research and development with local community groups to create a finished artwork and guidebook publication.

last updated 27.11.02 | site designed and maintained by Adrian Cousins