Ouch: Pain and Performance

wellcomecollection.org/pain

Free Entry. Drop in any time but please note the building might be busy and space is limited. Entry is not guaranteed.

Ouch is a LADA screening programme for In Pursuit of Pain, a Wellcome Collection Friday Late Spectacular – a dark and daring journey into the pursuit of pain for science, for pleasure, for progress, for art and for agency.

For many artists and audiences pain within the context of performance offers challenging, exhilarating and profound experiences. Ouch is a collection of short films looking at pain and performance – both the pain artists cause themselves within their work, and the experiences of audiences as they are invited to inflict pain on artists or are subjected to pain and discomfort themselves.

The selected works feature eminent and ground breaking artists whose practices address provocative issues from the lived experiences of illness, to representations of the aging female body, cosmetic surgery, addiction and self harm, animalistic impulses, and treacherous fire stunts, and what can happen when you invite audiences to be complicit in challenging embodied actions. 

Ouch features the work of Marina Abramovic, Ron Athey, Rocio Boliver, Cassils, Bob Flanagan, Oleg Kulik, Wafaa Bilal and ORLAN.

35 minutes (on loop throughout the evening)

There will be a bar running all night.

Full programme information here

Step-free access is available to all floors of the building (via platform and passenger lifts). If you have any special requests or requirements, please email access@wellcomecollection.org or call 020 7611 2222.