VERMIN: a pest control training centre

8.30pm, Friday 5 October
A live art event by Adela Jones
Cow Lane Studios, Cow Lane, Salford

At this event guests joined the pest control training squad and were exposed as trainees; to a new set of guidelines to erradicate local vermin. They were taken on a route through 3 training units and introduced to new and safe methods of pest control. The pest control team were named after different aspects of Vermin erradication.

The evening began as trainees were met by PREVENTION. He proceeded to tie the bottoms of their trouser legs with bailing twine (to keep out rodents). He then sent them outside with grabbers wearing protective gloves, to clear away matter which could attract Vermin; the pavement was covered in bread, half eaten chips and nuts. At 7pm trainees were called back inside and sent through a cleansing room where they were made to scrub their hands carefully under observation. This was followed by a short headlice examination on a spot lit stool infront of all the other trainees. The later people arrived the more people they had viewing their examination.

Hand written accounts of pest encounters formed the basis of the training introduction talk by CONTROL before the trainees were led in groups of six at a time into a giant mouse tunnel. The tunnel led to Unit 2. Inside Unit 2 trainees were instructed to clean a giant black rat sat in a bathing pool of tepid water. Attached to the matted fur coat of the rat were what looked like giant pink grubs (a set of fermenting prawns with a lingereing smell). After this they were directed through another tunnel to Unit 3 a workshop area where PREVENTION and ERRADICATION presented trainees with cheese, wire and a spoken instruction poem on how to make a trap. This space was quite dark. Led by CONTROL trainees had to leave the unit and plant their traps.

Cheese and wine were served in the time waiting for everyone to pass through the training experience . The pest encounter accounts were pegged up to be shared by all the trainees. The evening concluded with a presentation to all those who attended. This involved trainees shaking hands and being congratulated by the full training squad and the giant rat presenting certificates and white chocolate mice to each trainee.

Performers:
Will Pollard, Adela Jones,Charlotte Tupper, Sally Grimwood

Matthew Keogh, Peter Knowles

Photographs by Andrew Brooks 2007

AN OBEDIENCE CLASS

8.30pm, Saturday 1 September 2007
BIFLTBA (Birmingham International Festival of Live & Time Based Art)
The Edge, Digbeth, Birmingham

9pm, Friday 28 September 2007
greenroom, 54-56 Whitworth Street West, Manchester M1 5WW



A 20 minute interruption and introduction to ring-craft; judging potential agility, temperament and obedinece of a class of young pups. A live art event by Adela Jones. Part of 'emergency' an annual platform for contemporary performance, live art and intervention at Greenroom. Over 30 short performances took place in a day and a half (described by Greenroom as ' a veritable lucky dip - from the contemplative to the downright bonkers') and BIFLTBA at 'The Edge' in Birmingham.

Instructed by ladies in fuzzy green jogging suits with matching pink shoes and flowers in their hair; eight volunteers from the audience were invited to come and stand on a grass green runway. Put into pairs they were told they were about to compete in a 'dog show'. Each pair was given a team colour and a special bag containing a t-shirt, special doggy head gear a collar and lead. The remaining audience were given voting cards by Judge Knowles and Judge Grimwood and asked to vote for the dog they believe to be the best performer in each of 3 classes. The judges interrupted and passed comments on the dogs performance for the duration of the event.

After an action packed demonstration by the enthusuastic pups, voting cards were collected and counted and prizes were awarded to the impressively obedient animals. The dog in first place just made it with his pants still on - Judge Grimwood noted that wearing designer underwear would not fetch him extra points; but Banjo with his barked rendition of 'happy birthday' was not overlooked. On conclussion the show was packed back into the wheelie bone box from which it arrived and the event was over.




For further information about the programme at greenroom see: http://www.myspace.com/emergencymcr

This special event is dedicated to and inspired by EM BURROWS one dog-obsessed friend no longer with us. It will be presented again in Summer 2008, in Birkenhead in Em's home town.

Video stills taken from documentation by Will Pollard

The Imaginative Eye and the Levenshulme Bicycle Orchestra

8pm Saturday 15 September 2007
At Cow Lane Studios, Cow Lane, Salford, M5 4NB



The Imaginative Eye and the Levenshulme Bicycle Orchestra joined together for a unique collaboration of performance art and live music. The performers’ ages range from 21 to 81 with a variety of different experiences and backgrounds.

The Imaginative Eye consists of three performers. Milena Yon describes herself as a ‘dance shamaness performance artist from Croatia’: Jane Whitaker is a performance lecturer and a visiting tutor in radical performance: Ken Turner, painter and performer, set up ‘Action Space’ in 1967 as a pioneer of live art outside the gallery system. They have been performing together when the occasion arises for the last 6 years. Levenshulme Bicycle Orchestra is made up of experimental musicians. A sculptured bicycle is beaten and bowed alongside sheet metal, battered drums, hammering bass lines and howling wails; making up its sound.

The intention of this work was to look closer at a period of painting and thought from 1884 to 1930 in relation to the contrast in aesthetic between the ‘Rustic Naturalism’ of the Newlyn School of Painting in Cornwall and the rise of Impressionism in Paris and Brittany.

For more information see
http://www.levenshulmebicycleorchestra.com/colourcowlane.jpg

Photographs by Adela Jones 2007