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Jochen Dehn
(b. 1968, Paris, France).
The performance artist Jochen Dehn welcomes setbacks, collapses and obstacles as ingredients in his work, and takes Samuel Beckett's dictum, 'Try again. Fail again. Fail better', to absurd extremes. His performances often consist of lessons, demonstrations, workshops or experiments, each of which is doomed to partial failure (total failure would constitute too much of an achievement). He has devised participatory games, such as a misguided tour of the Louvre involving unsuccessful attempts to outwit motion detectors and alarms, and carried out research for a material that 'permits traceless transit', as in the construction of a door you can walk through without having to open it.
Explaining that he likes tricks and enjoys hiding and moving soundlessly, Dehn says: 'I am interested in miracles. I am interested in becoming invisible. Invisibility is not related to ending. It is a process of blurring outlines. I dissolve. I merge. I transform.'
The performance artist Jochen Dehn welcomes setbacks, collapses and obstacles as ingredients in his work, and takes Samuel Beckett's dictum, 'Try again. Fail again. Fail better', to absurd extremes. His performances often consist of lessons, demonstrations, workshops or experiments, each of which is doomed to partial failure (total failure would constitute too much of an achievement). He has devised participatory games, such as a misguided tour of the Louvre involving unsuccessful attempts to outwit motion detectors and alarms, and carried out research for a material that 'permits traceless transit', as in the construction of a door you can walk through without having to open it.
Explaining that he likes tricks and enjoys hiding and moving soundlessly, Dehn says: 'I am interested in miracles. I am interested in becoming invisible. Invisibility is not related to ending. It is a process of blurring outlines. I dissolve. I merge. I transform.'
Inventions and Illusions (What Makes A Failure A Good Failure)
In this class, Jochen Dehn explores basic techniques used to execute magic tricks and illusions.
Teeth, Developmentally Mature Skin and Hair
CC by Billie Owens, 2011
By using simple gestures of both attention and distraction, Dehn will show how to reshape, close and refill an empty drink's can; make
three different playing cards become one; show how solid objects can become penetrable; and demonstrate how to make someone disappear in a box. The class will look at simple objects (and techniques) in an attempt to create new uses for them and to evaluate their potential for magic.
Five Easy Pieces 3
2011
Photo by Marie Bechetoile - courtesy Jochen Dehn
Five Easy Pieces 4
2012
Photo by Mark Geffriaud - courtesy Jochen Dehn
DETAILS :
Price: £10
Concessions: 50% off (limited availability)
Venue: Hayward Gallery Room 1
Concessions: 50% off (limited availability)
Venue: Hayward Gallery Room 1
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