Ane Mette Ruge, Jacob Schokking, and Jesper Gundersen in Residence

Description:

Western Front hosted the performance art group of Ane Mette Ruge, Jacob Schokking, and Jesper Gundersen for a month-long residency. The trio emerged from the Copenhagen-based workshop for experimental arts, Værkstedet Værst. 

While at Western Front, the trio continued to develop their performance El Niño. The title is derived from the climatological phenomenon El Niño, a naturally occurring yet unusual warming of surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, which can disrupt global weather patterns. When translated to English “niño” means “boy” or “child.” For this work, the artists take this double entendre as their thematic foundation, personifying El Niño as a grown-up man and a seafarer. 

During their residency, the trio produced a video based on two years of performances they developed on the theme of El Niño; a text written by Ruge; and a series of photographic cutouts from old magazines. The text consisted of poetic descriptions of wind velocities used in the Beaufort Windscale. These “official” descriptions were interspersed with observations of a more personal and imaginary character. Dutch composer Jan Goorissen wrote and recorded a score for this text using his voice, a treble recorder, and a viola da gamba. Local actors Genevieve Le Marchand, Myros Buriak, Larry Cohen, and Western Front cats Oola and Spoola made appearances in this video. 

The artists also presented a live performance of El Niño in the Grand Luxe Hall. Following their residency at Western Front, the trio toured El Niño to artist-run spaces in Victoria, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal.