-
The New National Sport, 2018
Live performance on 8 December 2018
Argyle Square, Melbourne
Presented by Artshouse, Melbourne
In this live endurance performance, Cigdem Aydemir must return serves sent from a tennis-ball throwing machine, which ejects a ball whenever the word ‘terror’ is tweeted. With tweets appearing once every few seconds, The New National Sport questions the stamina of a society inundated by – and desensitised to – the news of terror.
Like a player in a macabre tennis game, Aydemir ducks and weaves to negotiate the unpredictability of the machine, which is connected to a screen displaying the emerging tweets. Her relentless vigilance reflects that of the Muslim community – of which she is a member – regardless of whether or not a new act of terror occurs or is committed by a Muslim. Over eight hours, The New National Sport attempts to visualise how news of terror impacts the human body – and by extension, the larger, socio-political body.
Terror – if it doesn’t kill us, will it make us stronger?
Acknowledgements
Technical programmer: Warren Armstrong
Production Manager: Tony MacDonald
Producer: Tara Prowse
Photo and video credit: Wendyhouse films