Sausages: An Event

About

Happening as part of Exposed Arts Projects Empowerment series, Sausages: An Event explores storytelling, dark humour and the power of strange, as subversive ways to challenge conventional order of things. The project is centered around the film ‘Sausages’ by artist Phillip Reeves, and also encompasses an art installation and an artist talk.
 
The discussion after the film screening will take the concept of event as a point of departure to uncover the narratives and critical thinking behind the film, and contextualise it within critical discourse. We will tackle the issues of traditions and rituals, hierarchies and power relations, social and gender roles and ways of empowering individuals through awareness and humour. The audience is invited to participate in the conversation alongside artist Phillip Reeves, the film cast — artists Siobhan McNamara and Holly Birtles, filmmaker Matt David, and the project curator Tonya Wechsler.  

Phillip Reeves works in painting, film, performance and installation. He is a recent graduate of Goldsmiths MFA in Fine Art (2018) and has won the Wytham Hall Painting Prize and The Jealous Art Prize, he has also been nominated for The Graduate Art Prize. In 2019 Phillip’s print ‘Gravy Boats’ has been acquired by the V&A Museum for its permanent collection. Phillip has been working on the project 'Sausages' since 2017, when it first materialised as an installation and performance at Vesterbro Showrooms, Copenhagen. The film version of 'Sausages' was completed in 2018 and a scaled up performance of 'Sausages' was played out at Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, in February 2019. Phillip is currently Artist in Residence at Husk, Limehouse.

Siobhan McNamara is currently doing an MA in philosophy at Kingston University. She has worked alongside artist Phillip Reeves in a performance at Cabaret Voltaire in February 2019, as well as acted as a reoccurring character in the ongoing performance work ‘The Fur Coat of my Decoy Wife’ with Phillip Reeves (2017 – present). Siobhan also works as an artist book publisher for the White Cube.

Holly Birtles is a photographic artist. She uses sculpture and painting to create costumes and props that are performed as subjects for photo shoots. In performance, she has featured in Helen Knowles’ film ‘The Trail of Superdebthunterbot’ and has produced her own films such as ‘I keep my expression in my nose' (2016), as well as various music videos including the recent collaboration with blues band Lonesome Shack in ‘Desert Dreams’ (2019). Holly previously studied BA Photography at Westminster and MFA in Fine Art at The Slade, she currently teaches Photography at University Centre Farnborough.    

Matt David is a documentary filmmaker and edit producer. His work for BBC 4 on the series ‘All at Sea’ with Timothy Spall saw him nominated for a BAFTA in 2012. ‘Sausages’ is the first fine art film that Matt has shot and produced, fulfilling an ambition to experiment with more artistic methods of film.  ​

Tonya Wechsler is a producer and curator of international arts projects. She is interested in the interdisciplinary approach to culture and works across different art forms. Tonya organised music, contemporary art, film, theatre and dance projects and events at venues such as Milton Court (Barbican), Kings Place, Sadlers Wells, Curzon Mayfair, and David Roberts Art Foundation. She is a graduate of MA Culture, Criticism and Curation (Central Saint Martins, UAL).