Image: Lu Kemp, Have your circumstances changed? Artangel 2015
photo: Manuel Vason
photo: Manuel Vason
Have your circumstances changed?
Lu Kemp in collaboration with older men from Islington
Artangel 2015
Lu Kemp with older men from Islington in collaboration with Elena Peña, Cis O'Boyle, Ben Lewis & Jamie Vartan:
Former FADS shop, Archway Mall, London N19
3 - 28 June 2015
Developed through the experiences of a cookery school for men over 65, this triptych of street-level performances confronts the audience with the routines of an older man's daily life.
Ageing is an exercise in adaptation. Over-85s is the fastest growing age demographic in the UK [1]. As we grow older, we must adjust to new challenges of daily life. Doctor and writer Atul Gawande has spoken of 'pit crews' in healthcare, arguing that what we need in later life is not medical intervention at the point of crisis but a coordinated team of specialists, like a race car pit crew, ensuring our daily wellbeing.
With services which provided this support being progressively cut, perhaps the adaptation most required is not personal, but social?
A young boy and older man occupying a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom confound expected roles. Is the boy the older man as a child, or someone who will grow up to make political decisions about elder care? Accompanied by a soundscape experienced through headphones, Have Your Circumstances Changed? delivers three intimate performances that gesture towards the overwhelming work of parents, partners, children, communities, and the state in keeping us alive as we reach later life.
Have your circumstances changed? was developed by Artangel in partnership with Age UK Islington, St Luke's Community Centre, Central Street Cookery School, and Vital Arts. Supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Co-produced by Islington Council for the Word Festival.
1. Richard Brooks, Over-85s are UK's fastest growing age group. ageuk.org.uk. 11 March 2013↩
Former FADS shop, Archway Mall, London N19
3 - 28 June 2015
Developed through the experiences of a cookery school for men over 65, this triptych of street-level performances confronts the audience with the routines of an older man's daily life.
Ageing is an exercise in adaptation. Over-85s is the fastest growing age demographic in the UK [1]. As we grow older, we must adjust to new challenges of daily life. Doctor and writer Atul Gawande has spoken of 'pit crews' in healthcare, arguing that what we need in later life is not medical intervention at the point of crisis but a coordinated team of specialists, like a race car pit crew, ensuring our daily wellbeing.
With services which provided this support being progressively cut, perhaps the adaptation most required is not personal, but social?
A young boy and older man occupying a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom confound expected roles. Is the boy the older man as a child, or someone who will grow up to make political decisions about elder care? Accompanied by a soundscape experienced through headphones, Have Your Circumstances Changed? delivers three intimate performances that gesture towards the overwhelming work of parents, partners, children, communities, and the state in keeping us alive as we reach later life.
Have your circumstances changed? was developed by Artangel in partnership with Age UK Islington, St Luke's Community Centre, Central Street Cookery School, and Vital Arts. Supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Co-produced by Islington Council for the Word Festival.
1. Richard Brooks, Over-85s are UK's fastest growing age group. ageuk.org.uk. 11 March 2013↩
