Cradeaux Alexander: Scripted Bodies

Bow Arts, London is delighted to present a mid-career retrospective by the acclaimed video and performance artist Cradeaux Alexander, opening on the 14th September 2018.

Entitled Scripted Bodies, the show brings together 12 video works and recordings of performances created by the American-born artist from 2009 to 2018; alongside these, Alexander will present a new performance work, bluebeard (2018), in which he will inhabit.

Alexander’s practice explores the intersection between theatre and art, an elision he employs to mediate and comment on a broad range of sociopolitical concerns, as well as postmodernist takes on subjects such as pornography and self-representation. However, in many cases he reaches into history and literature for inspiration: bluebeard is an example of the latter.

In bluebeard, premiering on the show’s opening night and performed four times during its run, Alexander inhabits the character of the eponymous infamous wife killer, portraying him as the embodiment of corruption. The work is performed by an ensemble of 5, utilising video, live performance, visuals and original text. As with much of Alexander’s oeuvre, it is part theatre, part installation, and part absurd spectacle exploiting the strength of live performance to transform topical debate into a compelling aesthetic.