Phobophilia is a performance rendered in Black and White. An homage to interdisciplinary artist, Jean Cocteau, this work draws parallels between the fallout of WWI and II and the impact of 21st century campaigns of state-sanctioned terror and torture. The performance begins with an interrogation that quotes verbatim the testimony of a Canadian man sent to Syria through “extraordinary rendition”. The interrogator makes a series of demands, from the mundane – “What is your name?” – to the elaborate – “Tell me your story from the day that you were born until today”.
From 2008 through 2013 we presented Phobophilia to audiences in Montreal, Regina, Victoria, Santiago de Chile, Valdivia, Buenos Aires, Glasgow, Winnipeg, Bogotá, Vancouver, Kelowna, New York, Rekjavik, Hofsos, and London.
Phobophilia is the key component of a body of work that includes the installation, Persephone and the short, cabaret work, Pas peur.
Here are two excerpts from the performance:
Additional video documentation is available through the NYU HIDVL archive.
Writing on Phobophilia: