The Vacuum Cleaner/Hix Productions/Artsadmin/In Between Time/Escalator East to Edinburgh Present MENTAL, 7 August
The Metropolitan Police call him a domestic extremist. The NHS have described him as 'highly disturbed' and labelled him with Borderline Personality Disorder. In the Royal Courts of Justice energy giant E.ON claimed him to be "a real and present threat to the safe running of our lawful business."
He prefers the term mental.
After ten years as an outlaw and inpatient, notorious artist activist the vacuum cleaner, presents an autobiographical performance told through his psychiatric records, police intelligence files and corporate injunctions collected through the Data Protection Act. He has gained fame, notoriety and injunctions for hijacking the Starbucks logo, parodying the Olympics twitter account and causing a minor riot by giving away 100,000 one cent Euros in the street.
Directed by Perrier Award Best Newcomer Kim Noble, Mental is performed by art and activism collective of one the vacuum cleaner in an intimate, sparsely furnished bedroom in an undisclosed location. An audience of 12 are invited to join him under an oversized duvet as accompanied by an OHP and vinyl records, the artist provides a welcoming environment to explore his pertinent experiences of the dynamics of power.
"Mental is my first autobiographical show. It contrasts official languages against poignant and darkly humorous personal recollections," explained James (the vacuum cleaner). "Spanning 13 years of my adult life, the show describes my experiences of severe and debilitating mental illness, suicide, social isolation, stigma, police and corporate surveillance because of my activism and art."
the vacuum cleaner has been making performances, exhibitions, interventions and films since 2003, beginning shortly after his first stay in a mental health hospital. His work has been commissioned and exhibited internationally, including Tate Modern, ICA, Nottingham Contemporary, the Centre for Contemporary Art Glasgow, the Liverpool Biennial, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), Wooster Collective (USA), Anti Festival (Finland), Centre d'Art Contemporain (Switzerland), Hebbel-Am-Ufer, Tanztendenz (Germany) and Khoj Live 08 (India). His films have been commissioned by BBC4, Channel 4 and Arte. This is the first time he has brought work to The Edinburgh Fringe.
Mental has been selected for Escalator East To Edinburgh. Each year Escalator East to Edinburgh helps artists and arts organisations to raise their profile and perform to new audiences as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard The Bedroom (Venue 33)
Tickets: £10, £8
Dates: 7-10, 14-17, 21-24 Aug
Venue Box Office: 0131 556 6550
Time: 13.30 (90 mins, includes journey to secret location)
Online: pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh
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