Floor Play, 2021

Performance, Tabard, Video, Text

Clearance at Lewis's Building

Floor Play explores employment as a state of consciousness, examining how job roles influence our bodies and interactions in unfamiliar environments. This performance investigates the movement of performers and the audience within the space, exploring shifting viewpoints and questioning how we are perceived in environments that do not define us.

The artist employed two performers with backgrounds in movement, dance, and theater, both with prior experience in cleaning roles. They worked for one hour, each was paid the national living wage. Floor Play highlights how everyday objects like a sweeping brush can transform into performance props, and how individuals in seemingly mundane roles can embody performers based on the context of their environment.

This work draws attention to how spaces shape our perception of everyday roles and influence our interactions with physical surroundings. It challenges us as conscious beings to reconsider how roles can be activated regardless of whether the space traditionally facilitates them.