London: Mertle Merman loose at the Hayward Gallery

Press release by Caroline Smith
Cross posted at www.carolinesmithonline.com

Mertle Merman’s BUTOH CLEANSE ‘N’ QUEER UP
Mertle – performance artist Caroline Smith’s alter ego – joins the Avant Gardeners (http://www.avantgardening.org) at the Hayward Gallery, London SE1, UK Sunday 17th June at 3pm for a Butoh-inspired ritual cleanse and queer up of the tent and surrounding areas. Come along and participate – the deep cleanse is to die for.

This is all in aid of a week long programme of queer home economics Fritz Haeg’s Sundown Schoolhouse.
http://www.fritzhaeg.com/schoolhouse/projects/queer-home-ec.html

Avant Gardening are also making a fanzine and have invited Mertle to have a Problem Page on all matters cleaning and a-cleansing.

Now, you might have a question about cleaning an aspect of your gorgeous homes-and-garden. Perhaps your nautical theme has left your carpet dripping wet. Your pedigree partner puked up and stain busters refused to bust. Or you may – dirty blighters that some of you are- have a question about cleaning your actual selves. Who knows.
All questions will be answered by Mertle. The best will win a Prize. At the very least you can scrub off that perma-stain.
All questions answered next Sunday, 3pm

About Caroline Smith
British performance artist Caroline Smith explores complicity and exchange and the disturbances that arise between self and other. She often works under the guise of Mertle Merman, or the elusive ‘Q’ or M. Abrakadabrovic. Activities such as eating, looking and confessing are reframed into ritualistic, theatrical one-to-ones that offer the opportunity to transgress. She has performed at many of the UK’s leading venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Tate Modern, ICA, Whitechapel Gallery, Tramway Theatre for the National Review of Live Art and in quite a few queer events. In 2011 Caroline did a performance series with Clifford Chance’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employee network at the firm’s LGBTQ exhibition in London.

Related Link
Caroline Smith’s website