When creative individuals find themselves faced with the challenges of collaborating on fresh projects; one would assume an outside-the-box approach may be a prerequisite. However Andrew Gannon and Nadia Rossi have quite literally found themselves inside-the-box(es) throughout their 8-hour performance exchange; as part of the GI Festival in Glasgow.
Throughout the course of their enduring performance the artists – who are completely hidden inside cardboard boxes (except their legs) – move around the space at Wasps Studios; inadvertently inviting visitors to interact with them. Despite the nature of the event, their work embodies a welcoming unpretentiousness. Although the boxes present a physical barrier between the artists and visitors; somewhat ironically the lack of face-to-face contact actually lifts a social barrier; empowering visitors to phlegmatically embrace in communication with the artists. For the attendees hiding in their own metaphoric social-boxes, they are invited to communicate with the artists via the trending Twitter topic: “#inboxes“.
Potentially my favourite piece at the GI Festival thus far, Gannon and Rossi encapsulate the perfect balance of ingenuousness and inadvertent community-encompassing art; a yearned for needle in an otherwise elitist haystack.