Selina Thompson: On Getting Braver and Other Durational Practices

Performance artist Selina Thompson’s work exemplifies how working on oneself can be harnessed to change the world. Thompson began making autobiographical solo performances about stereotypically feminine concerns before moving on to political topics with a capital ‘P’, e.g., racism and democracy, topics that “men write books about”, as she puts it. The first solo performance work of her still flourishing career was called Chewing the fat (2013) and addressed eating disorders; her next two, both made in 2015, were companion pieces, with Dark and Lovely focusing on the tribulations, joys and solidarity of Black hair styling, while Race Cards compiles thousands of questions on the topic of race. Subsequently, her most widely acclaimed and internationally toured piece, Salt (2016), reckons with her identity as a British post-colonial subject by recounting her endeavour to retrace the transatlantic slave trade route on a cargo ship. Her current work, Twine, arguably her most personal piece to date, is the show she previously vowed not to make because the subject matter, her own adoption, was too emotionally fraught to tackle. We discuss the continuities across these works: the defiance of shame, the channeling of anger, her commitment to durational research and development, and how all of the above have impacted her life, for better or worse. 

Selina Thompson (b. 1990, Birmingham) is an artist and writer whose work has been shown and praised nationally and internationally. Her practice is chiefly concerned with grief, love, and the world to come, and she seeks to make work that is visually striking, and lyrical, even while grounded in politics. She won the ISPA Distinguished artist award in 2023, and her credits, both with and outside of her company, Selina Thompson Ltd, include  BBC4, BBC Radio 3, The Royal Court Theatre, The Public Theater and BAM as well as theatres across the UK, Europe, South and North America and Australia.

Oriana Fox is a London-based, New York-born artist with a PhD in self-disclosure. She puts her expertise to work as the host of the talk show performance piece The O Show.

Credits:
Produced, edited and hosted by Oriana Fox
Original theme song written and performed by Paulette Humanbeing
Background music loop by Teddybeast6
Special Thanks to Lara Perry, Katie Beeson and Janak Patel

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