Joie Noire
Pause: Jimmy Robert (After Ian White)
What is the nature of a body’s visibility?
What is the role of desire?
What and who remains when the party is over?
And how will the show go on?
In this tribute to Ian White (1971-2013), Jimmy Robert investigates the worlds of disco and death. You witness two imposing bodies in a space of rhythm and sensuality. While assessing a club’s potential to host underground celebrations, Joie Noire dissects club culture. Expect a critical meditation on the legacy of the 1980s with a specific focus on AIDS, activism, gender and race.
• Born in Guadeloupe, Jimmy Robert currently lives in Berlin. He is a graduate of Goldsmiths, University of London and the Rijksakademie (Amsterdam). He has exhibited at Tate Britain and WIELS, and presented performances at Performa 17, Playground 2015, and others. He has been featured in the Performatik programme twice before, in 2011 and 2013.
concept Jimmy Robert | curator Mason Leaver-Yap | performed by Courtney Henry, Jimmy Robert | costume Claudia Gedoe | production KW Institute for Contemporary Art | support The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, and Tanya Leighton Gallery, Berlin | thanks to Matthias Mau, Susanna Kirschnick and Christine Fenzl at gOlab, and Dominic Paterson | Joie Noire premiered in January 2019 at KW (Berlin).
