ADDICTED TO THE SHINDIG // 2025
Video Installation (work in progress) - 04:39, MP4, 2338 x 1654px, couch, rug, TV stand, TV, 150cm x 300cm x 300cm
ADDICTED TO THE SHINDIG explores gender through the act of dance, embodiment and imitation. As a non-binary, fem-presenting artist, ADDICTED TO THE SHINDIG is a satirical commentary on the perception of masculinity, as an unexamined byproduct of youth and popular culture.
In the video, Flynn, alongside three FLINTA performers, study, interpret and imitate the choreography, body-language and facial expressions of Los Angeles rock band, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Culturally, cis-men in these (and corresponding) music genres have portrayed a flagrant approach towards their bodily expressions, granting themselves permission to be unapologetically silly or ugly, overtly aggressive and destructive, and at times, even sexually vulgar. It is this hyper-confident choreography that Flynn, and their fellow performers imitate, and as fem-socialized artists with no professional dance training, they are aware that their bodies - both physically (in regards to the bare-chest), as well as in motion - carry residual fem-socialisation and programming, impacting the way they were taught (or given permission) to dance and move. It is through the amalgamation of imitation combined with social programming, that Flynn attempts to dissect the behavioral limitations, or liberations, imposed upon the gender binaries.
However, in an effort to distill the experience as a commentary on dance and body-language only, the performance is not accompanied by music, rather, the artists listen to the RHCP song “Can't Stop” on personalized headphones. This places the performance against a relatively silent backdrop, punctuated by an eerie soundscape of foot stamping, breathing and spontaneous bursts of the performers untrained singing voices. This minimal soundscape will allow the audience to consider the behaviour and movement of each character out of context. In fact, it is critical to the artist that the audience does not know that they are interpreting RHCP, rather that they view the work with limited cultural referencing, allowing them to perceive the performative bodies as new gestures of gender representation.
The performance was captured, and presented as a satirical interpretation of a “music-video”, lasting 04:39 minutes and presented as a fixed video-installation with audio. To produce the video, the artist utilized green-screen and compositing technologies to place the performers against a cloudy blue sky. The edit mimics that of a classic music video, embracing fast-paced cuts, multiple camera angles, slo-motion, zooms and panning. The proposed installation is a replica of an early 2000’s living room - the “MTV era” - with a disorganized entertainment system, velour couch, grey carpet, a bag of neon orange chips and a bottle of flat Pepsi. Audience members sit on the couch and watch the “music video” with headphones, only to realize that there is no music, rather only the heavy breathing and foot stamping of the performers on screen.
