The Flip Side of the Coin

Site-specific performance and live-feed video installation

The Flip Side of the Coin transformed Chemist Gallery by bringing its formal exhibition space into collision with the domestic rooms hidden above it. Across two floors, ten artists moved between performance, rehearsal, personal material and improvisation, while two live cameras transmitted actions between the spaces. The audience circulated throughout the building, becoming part of a shifting relationship between performer, observer and camera.

The project developed from Norman Mine’s interest in expanding the idea of the backstage: the space where uncertainty, vulnerability, preparation and failure are normally concealed from the finished image. Downstairs, performances took place within the formal gallery; upstairs, the domestic space became a less controlled environment where artists could experiment with lived experience, personal storyboards and different forms of presence.

After the live event, traces remained throughout the gallery through projections, sound, scaffolding, objects and remnants of the performances, questioning what happens when a temporary live encounter is translated into an image, object or archive.

Curated by: Norman Mine
Artists: Anahita Harding, Barney Pau, Dino Desica, Fiontán Bleau Moran, Gianna T, Hera Santos, Marf Summers, Natalie Price Hafslund, Tamu Nkiwane, Rosa Doornenbal
Venue: Chemist Gallery, London
Photography: Gray Carmen