But Then
Cassandra Tytler
16
February 2017
16
February
2017
3
March 2017
A voice tells disjointed tales of disgrace, culpability and unwanted exposure. Video eyes surround; they observe, control and guide you. But Then uses storytelling to explore the individual self-policing that takes place when we present ourselves to the world: how our stories change according to our own sense of shame and judgment. Through this enactment we both moralise and normalize our actions, but always in relation to the people around us. As Foucault posits in his Panopticon, our self-disciplining is internalised; our quest is to be “normal”. But Then emphasizes these forms of normative power relations through auditory storytelling, performance and image making. Tytler’s performance and video work is an ongoing examination of the mechanics of performance in the embodiment of persona and its spectatorship.
A voice tells disjointed tales of disgrace, culpability and unwanted exposure. Video eyes surround; they observe, control and guide you. But Then uses storytelling to explore the individual self-policing that takes place when we present ourselves to the world: how our stories change according to our own sense of shame and judgment. Through this enactment we both moralise and normalize our actions, but always in relation to the people around us. As Foucault posits in his Panopticon, our self-disciplining is internalised; our quest is to be “normal”. But Then emphasizes these forms of normative power relations through auditory storytelling, performance and image making. Tytler’s performance and video work is an ongoing examination of the mechanics of performance in the embodiment of persona and its spectatorship.
Cassandra Tytler
Cassandra Tytler is an artist working within single-channel video, performance, and video installation. Her work explores contemporary cultural iconography and the idealized signs that exist within it. She is particularly fascinated by the symbolism of gendered clichés, and within her work pastiches isolated and fragmented cultural conventions as an exploration of the power relations that are created and get repeated, disciplining gender. Tytler's work combines an unsettling, wry humour with a pop sensibility. It is an ongoing examination of the mechanics of video performance, both onscreen and by the hand of the video artist. She completed her PhD at Monash University Faculty of Art. She lives in Narrm/Melbourne, Australia.She has received support and fellowships from numerous organizations such as the Monash Academy of Performing Arts, NARS Foundation, NYC, Druskininkai Artists' Residence, Lithuania, Sumu Artist in Residence program, Turku, Finland, The Camargo Foundation, Cassis, France, The Cité des Internationales, Paris, The Australia Council, The Ian Potter Cultural Trust and the Dame Joan Sutherland Fund, American Australian Association, NYC.Tytler has exhibited work in galleries such as The Torrance Art Museum, L.A.; F.A.C.T. Liverpool; Gallery Titanik, Turku, Finland; Harold Golen Gallery, Miami; The Counihan Gallery; Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces; Seventh Gallery’ Westspace; Trocadero Art Space; KINGS Artist-Run; Melbourne, Australia; Plimsol Gallery, Tasmania, Australia; Metro Arts, Brisbane, Australia. Her films have screened in numerous festivals internationally. She has done her live video performances around Europe, and in both Miami and Melbourne. Tytler completed her Masters degree at RMIT University, Australia in 2003 and her PhD at Monash University, Australia in 2021.