THE CRYSTAL PALACE GROUP

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performance/video

 

Four “promoters,” dressed in full Victorian costume (referencing the “original spirit” of Crystal Palace) and wearing brassards bearing the original design of the Chinese communist flag, travel to Crystal Palace Park via the Overground. Upon arrival, the performers set up a corporate-style promotional site and begin distributing flyers announcing a new development project at the park. When questioned about their costumes, they refer to their role as promoters for the Crystal Palace Group, without disclosing further information about the project or the rationale behind their outfits. Members of the public are redirected to a website advertised on the flyer, which remains permanently "Under Construction".

Throughout the performance, a looped soundtrack – appropriating a promotional video by the Argentinian real estate company Faena – fills the public space with a seductive soundscape. The performance draws a line between the Victorian imperialist project and the surreal spirit of current capitalism, which is capable of absorbing even opposing ideologies (as in the case of China capitalism + communism). The promoters' superficial engagement with the project they advertise smooths over any attempt to interrogate the contradictions embodied in their appearance.

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The Crystal Palace Group was a performance that took place in 2015, between New Cross and Crystal Palace Park in London. It was a collaborative work by Florence Stencel-Wade, Jacquie Rosenbach, Athanasios Anagnostopoulos, Michelle Salomons, and Johanna Maj Schmidt.