The performance SJ is a narration of a true story. In 1905 in Orleans, France, the convicted Henri Languille lost his life in the guillotine. Shortly after his execution Doctor Beaurieux, who was present, shouted the name of the executed. The eyes of the severed head responded by opening vigorously. The doctor’s call was repeated two more times. The third time Henri’s gaze faded forever. The incident was recorded in a 6-page text by Dr Beaurieux as a medical experiment in the archives “les Archives d’Anthropologie Criminelle”. The whole event lasted 30 seconds. In 1996, Douglas Gordon exposed Henri Languille’s last moments in the piece 30 seconds text by recording Henri’s execution in a new, shorter version, which takes 30 seconds to read. In 2020 the piece SJ extends the duration of 30 seconds text through a vocal performance. A deconstructive reading of this new text unfolds a new narration, pronouncing each letter for 30 seconds. It takes about 8 hours to read the whole text in Turkish.
The performance SJ is presented at the Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi in Istanbul, curated by the Marina Abramovic Institute from 30/10 to 15/11 daily, 12:00-18:00, except Mondays, as part of the exhibition Akış/Flux. Its scheduled duration was 6 consecutive weeks. Part of the performance was presented in the spring of 2020 when it was stopped in a hurry due to covid 19. The continuation and completion of the exhibition will start tomorrow, Friday 30/10/2020
Due to emergency health measures, my physical presence becomes impossible, since all travels between Greece and Turkey are suspended indefinitely. In this context “SJ” will be presented in the form of video and audio installation throughout the above duration
30″ for Henri’s head
30″ Gordon’s text
30″ for every letter
