Scavenger Coat is a collaborative storytelling coat with pockets containing ambiguous fragments of trash I collected on walks. It can be exhibited as an interactive object in a gallery space, or activated by a performer at an event. Bits of rubbish are 'recycled' conceptually and psychologically rather than materially. I wanted to access the imaginative potential of landfill as a sort of collective subconscious full of society's ideas, dreams, desires, memories and feelings, instead of the usual material focus that recycling has.
I designed it to have as many pockets as possible, inside and out, and commissioned tailor Rizwana at Khadi Tailors to fabricate it. The coat pocket contents are used as a touch-based prompt for collective storytelling improv. Usually, I am the Facilitator, but others can take that role (including the participants themselves if they wish). The rules are simple, I invite people to engage and explain that we are making short stories together by feeling, describing and interpreting the ambiguous objects and fragments in the pockets of the coat. I roam around the event/exhibition inviting people to make as story with me, and people take it in turns to ask questions and feel inside pockets of their choice for answers. What they feel and describe guides group ideas and interpretations, towards the formation of a story which usually has a character, an event and an ending. The Facilitator takes notes on the stories as they unfold, and write them up as a publication after the event.
Performed at Behold (Hypha Studios, 60 Conduit Street, London) and SET Social, both March 2023, and at a private party in Finchley Rd in August 2023.
This performance is different every time and can be commissioned for events, parties, education settings, galleries, festivals, away days, weddings, personal crises other occasions. It works well with crowds, is suitable for all ages, and tends to bring strangers together. It also works well in classroom settings and as improv 'crowd work' on stage.
Here is the book of short stories generated at the August event. I wrote them up as prose really quickly using the notes I made during the event. Each story was made by feeling and interpreting using the feely coat pockets in collaboration with 2-6 different people. I like the idea of fast publishing, and will be making one of these books every time I do the performance.
I designed it to have as many pockets as possible, inside and out, and commissioned tailor Rizwana at Khadi Tailors to fabricate it. The coat pocket contents are used as a touch-based prompt for collective storytelling improv. Usually, I am the Facilitator, but others can take that role (including the participants themselves if they wish). The rules are simple, I invite people to engage and explain that we are making short stories together by feeling, describing and interpreting the ambiguous objects and fragments in the pockets of the coat. I roam around the event/exhibition inviting people to make as story with me, and people take it in turns to ask questions and feel inside pockets of their choice for answers. What they feel and describe guides group ideas and interpretations, towards the formation of a story which usually has a character, an event and an ending. The Facilitator takes notes on the stories as they unfold, and write them up as a publication after the event.
Performed at Behold (Hypha Studios, 60 Conduit Street, London) and SET Social, both March 2023, and at a private party in Finchley Rd in August 2023.
This performance is different every time and can be commissioned for events, parties, education settings, galleries, festivals, away days, weddings, personal crises other occasions. It works well with crowds, is suitable for all ages, and tends to bring strangers together. It also works well in classroom settings and as improv 'crowd work' on stage.
Here is the book of short stories generated at the August event. I wrote them up as prose really quickly using the notes I made during the event. Each story was made by feeling and interpreting using the feely coat pockets in collaboration with 2-6 different people. I like the idea of fast publishing, and will be making one of these books every time I do the performance.
| pocket_stories_louise_ashcroft_2023.pdf |