Artist
John Court

b. 1969, UK / Finland
www.johncourtnow.com

John Court has been living in Tornio, Finland, since 1997. As a durational performance artist, time is one of the most important elements in Court’s work. Often, he performs for 8 hours, the length of a working day. Other times he performs throughout an entire event or during the opening hours of the specific venue (museum, institution), in which the event takes place. Lately he has been interested in letting the objects and materials that he uses in his performances determine the duration of his work. He does not consider his performances as a solo piece, since the element of collaboration is inherent in them, be it through his engagement with curators, organizers, artists, viewers, objects, spaces and time.

Court’s works are responsive to the site and often the continuous, repetitive action creates a rhythm that runs parallel to that of the site. In all his works, he is fundamentally concerned with drawing or writing, as drawing connects line, movement, space and time. He has exhibited extensively in Scandinavia, and has been invited to perform at major events such as, 2017: UP-ON Live Art Festival (Chengdu China), SIGNAL Festival (Brussels, Belgium); 2016: Beijing Live (China): 2015: Viva! Art Action (MontrĂ©al, Canada) ; 2014: 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art (Toronto, Canada), DigitaLive (Guangzhou, China); 2012: SpaceX Gallery (Exeter, UK); 2010: Guangzhou Live Art Festival (China), ANTI Contemporary Art Festival in Kuopio, Finland); 2005: Venice Biennale (Italy); 2004: Liverpool Biennial (UK).

Performance
Performance by John Court

FADO Performance Art Centre is pleased to co-present a new in situ performance by John Court in the context of FAAS: Ă€ Qui?, Sudbury’s 6th Fair of Alternative Art taking place from October 24–26, 2018.

Every two years since 2008, the Fair of Alternative Art in Sudbury (FAAS) has occupied and transformed a public space in the nickel city’s downtown. Invited artists are challenged to complete new works over the course of the festival and according to each edition’s concept and theme. This year’s festival takes place in an empty school, St-Louis-de-Gonzague Elementary School.

John Court’s performance practice is informed by the site he is performing in, often responding with continuous, repetitive actions that create a rhythm that runs parallel to that of the site. In many of his works, he refers to his own days at school, counting (or trying to), reading and drawing. In this site-specific action, Court utilized several wooden stair handrails sourced from around the school. Balancing them on his shoulder, the artist moves in repeating circles around the space, side stepping the handrails scattered around the school room floor and marking a line on the chalkboard in an effort to keep track of each revolution.

INVITED ARTISTS: Martin Beauregard (Montréal), Ruth Belinga (Cameroon), Michel Bitimbhe (Cameroon), Mathieu Boucher Côté (Moncton), John Court (Finland), Quill Christie-Peters (Canada), Raven Davis (Canada), John Deneuve (France), Marika Drolet-Ferguson (Moncton), Anyse Ducharme (Sturgeon Falls), Serge Olivier Fokoua (Cameroon), Patrick Harrop (Sudbury), Jérôme Havre (Toronto), Terrance Houle (Calgary), Camille Larivée (Canada), Salifou Lindou (Cameroon), Geneviève Massé (Montréal), Laurie McGauley (Sudbury), Joseph Muscat (Toronto), Yanie Porlier (Ottawa), Les Poulpes (Chicoutimi, Montréal and St-Émile-de-Suffolk), Rah (Toronto), Cora-Rae Silk (Sudbury), Cheryl Rondeau (Toronto), Laura Taler (Toronto), Camille Usher (Canada), Jean-Ambroise Vesac (Rouyn-Noranda), Clayton Windatt (Canada) and many others!

PRESENTING PARTNERS of FAAS: À Qui?
Aboriginal Curatorial Collective
AXENÉ07
BRAVO
Centre Bang
Dare-Dare
Debajehmujig Creation Centre
FADO Performance Art Centre
Gallery 101
Galerie Louise
Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario
Galerie Sans Nom
ImagoL’Écart lieu d’art actuel
Myths and Mirrors
Perte de signal
RIAPRuben Cohen
Voix visuelle

© John Court, FAAS, 2018. Photo Camille Tremblay Beaulieu.

Performance Yellow

This fragrance opens us to the question, has the show started? It's winter, the theatre is colder than the street and the room is filled with people and all their winter smells: wet faux leather, down, too much shampoo, and beer breath. The atmosphere is a trickster. Am I late, am I early?

Top Notes

yellow mandarin, mimosa

Middle Notes

honey, chamomile, salt

Base Notes

narcissus, guaiac wood, piss, beer