Publication | Riso-printed / A4 / Edition: 80 | 2022 | Published by PrintRoom (NL), supported by Stichting Stokroos

With contributions by: Kees van Leeuwen, Karolina Rupp, Yindi Chen, Rachel Pursglove, Pelumi Adejumo, Elena Kostenko-Lefebvre, Hannah Dawn Henderson, the collective To See the Inability to See (Arefeh Riahi, Maartje Fliervoet and Martín La Roche), Andrea Knézovic, Sands Murray-Wassink, Ingvild Syntropia, Ratu Saraswati, and Lillian Vlaun

16 10 20 is an anthology of performance scores, exploring what ‘performance’ and broadly ‘performativity’ means under conditions of quarantining, social distancing, or otherwise limited social contact. What is a performance when you are your own audience? What is the significance of performativity when there is no other to acknowledge your expressions?

The anthology is structured as a folder containing loose, monochrome riso-prints that the reader/viewer can freely extract, rearrange, and individually study. Amongst the visual contributions, a narrative red-thread extends throughout the publication in the form of a lyrical essay composed by the artistic research collective, To See the Inability to See. The essay is divided into a series of ‘bookmarks’ — narrow strips that punctuate the performance scores. These too can be re-arranged in a non-linear fashion, conjuring new narrative associations.

The concept of 16 10 20 draws on a set of themes that can be traced in our first publication, 15 03 20, the title of which references the date that the Netherlands entered its first national (partial-)lockdown. In this vein, 15 03 20 departed from the question of how can one host togetherness (as much between between artistic collaborators as between makers and an audience) when gatherings in public space pose a paradoxical risk to one’s well being. 16 10 20 addresses a similar enquiry from the angle of performance art — a field of creative practice that was especially affected by the onset of the pandemic.

The invited contributors each relate to the notion of ‘performance’ in a distinct way — eg. in relation to filmmaking, musical practice, performance art, or as an aesthetic/conceptual consideration encompassed within a sculptural/installational practice. Each contributor was given complete freedom to interpret the notion of a ‘performance’ score as they so wish, without necessarily adhering to canonised conceptions of what a performance score can be (eg. Fluxus scores, musical notation, choreographic diagrams).

16 10 20 was launched with a three-part public programme, which took place at Rotterdam’s Zine Camp, Manifold Books, and PrintRoom. This programme was also complimented with a pop-up exhibition of the scores and performative activation at 4Bid Gallery.