freeze out I

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Freeze Out I (2004)

Performance/ installation, Bø Studentgallery, March 2004.

A performance for 13 participants playing a poker-tournament where they got eliminated one by one by running out of chips, until only one remained.

Each participant in the performance represented a character/ personality-type through the way they played their cards. The game itself was real, but the players acted according to written instructions, which covered any card-combination they could be dealt. General patterns of behaviour had been translated into styles of playing using a “stylus-grid of poker” as a guide.

The characters were named: The Altruist, The Passenger, The Rock, The Cautious, The Agreeable, The Frivolous, The Chameleon, The Ascetic, The Aloof, The Passionate, The Maniac, The Obstinate, and The Pressure-boiler.

The performance was both a game of poker, a staged personality clash, and a study in group dynamics.

The outcome of the game was not given, some characters disappeared quicker than expected, others like The Maniac became (against all odds) the central figure that everything revolved around for a long period. After 2 ½ hours of play the performance was concluded with the forth and final showdown between The Chameleon and the relatively defenceless Pressure-boiler.

The performance was filmed from bird-eye view and shown unedited afterwards, together with a display of props from the performance.