Nutritional Index

collaboration with Kurt Bosecke
2021

Nutritional Index is part of a broader project curated by Belinda Howden, titled Reaching Out wherein Tutti Arts has partnered with three South Australian cultural institutions to facilitate three pairs of artists to respond to their collections. Kurt and I are one of these pairs, and we were invited to create a new work in response to The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA).

Over approximately 8 months, Kurt and I had access to numerous behind-the-scenes tours to understand the inner workings of the gallery, meeting and interviewing many different staff members including curators, librarians, volunteers, installers, builders and security staff. This, paired with Kurt’s interest and rich knowledge of food and nutrition, guided us to develop a performance work called Nutritional Index. We decided to develop a performance work, as a key goal of the project was to occupy as much space at the gallery as we possibly could, and also because Kurt and I have performed together in the past and each wanted to push our performance skills further.

The performance sees Kurt and I play hybrid characters – half ourselves and half researchers from the Australian Bureau of Cultural Dietetics Eating For Good Health (A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.).

Throughout the tour Kurt and I speak to several artworks on display within AGSA’s galleries, using nutrition as a lens through which to understand the works in a different light. Audience members are issued with level 3 security clearance lanyards upon arrival andWe are accompanied by 4 security staff (played by members of The Bait Fridge), and after 1 hour of moving through the galleries, we finish the tour with a Nutribullet smoothie using ingredients referencing some of the artworks throughout the tour.

Following the tours, Kurt and I are working with a third collaborator, Eloise Holoubek, to make a short video work relfecting on our time working in the collection, called The Impressive Vibrant Fantasy Buffet: Five Essential Rules to Achieve a Rodin Torso in Under Two Months (see below for a preview). The video work will be shown at AGSA during SALA Festival in August 2022.

Nutritional Index was supported by Tutti Arts, the Art Gallery of South Australia, The Department of Premier and Cabinet, and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. I would like to express my deepest thanks to project curator Belinda Howden, for her amazing efforts and support in the development and delivery of this work.