Come A Little Closer

About

The pandemic has forced many into isolation. With the increased proximity to the camera and the norm of webcams, we are becoming witnesses to the world. 

In an evening of performance artworks, Come a Little Closer, artists explore the concept of online witnessing, questioning what it means to be present with the realities of others through the screen. Rejecting the act of viewing performance as voyeurism, the artists are choosing to alter acts of looking into acts of witnessing, implying a support of each other’s practices, and realities. Witnessing engages our reflections and caring as participating artists take a look at gender, religion, colonialism and memory as seen through the lens of each other’s works.

This cohort of performance artists employ an amalgamation of disciplines and mediums in their practices including escapology, embodiment, music and virtual reality, coming from their intensive exploration with each other on how audiences view art in the digital age. Formed in Suzanne Lacy’s class at the University of Southern California’s Roski School of Art and Design, the group includes Vrinda Aggarwal, Gabrielle Shira Broome, Sean Doran, Jiyoon Kim, Hings Lim, Jose Guadalupe Sanchez, Diane Williams, and Rachel Zaretsky; as well as special invited guests, Nao Bustamante and Marcus Kuiland-Nazario.