Janice Kerbel’s major new artwork Sink was commissioned by The Common Guild as part of Festival 2018, the cultural programme for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships.
Sink takes the form of a synchronized swimming routine, using the language of synchronization to explore the tensions between body and language, movement and stillness, the individual and the collective. Synchronized swimming is marked by a unique history infused with the magic of cinema, the discipline of dance, and the precision and athleticism of contemporary competitive sport. Sink will explore contradictions inherent in the form to imagine a compositional choreography that is both austere and extravagant, performed by specialist, elite female swimmers.
The first live performances of Sink took place in the distinctive surroundings of The Western Baths Club, in the west end of Glasgow, on Friday 3 August. Established in 1876, The Western Baths Club is one of a handful of Victorian-era swimming pools in the UK that continue to be in active use. Operated as a private members’ club, Sink offers a rare opportunity to visit the building, and to experience the remarkable pool environment through a unique event.
Sink is Kerbel’s largest project to date, and builds on her existent relationship with The Common Guild and Glasgow, where her work DOUG was commissioned and first presented in the Mitchell Library in 2014. Kerbel was shortlisted for the 2015 Turner Prize for this work, which was re-configured and re-presented in the Turner Prize exhibition at Tramway.
Sink was choreographed by Janice Kerbel in collaboration with Adele Carlsen and Lorena Randi.
Sink was commissioned by The Common Guild and part of Festival 2018, the cultural programme for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships and is supported by The High Commission of Canada.
