MASS ACTION: 137 CAKES IN 90 HOURS

Mass Action: 137 Cakes in 90 Hours opens Performance Space’s “Halls for Hire” season where community halls are being transformed into art spaces. Four endurance performance artists known as Brown Council will occupy the Potts Point’s Country Women’s Association’s (CWA) headquarters for four days to bake 137 cakes. They will not leave the premises for the duration of the undertaking and will work in 4-hour shifts for 90 hours in total. Two bloggers will be taking turns to report about their endeavour. CWA members who will also judge the cakes are welcome to visit them anytime but the public can view the action at designated times. At the end everyone is invited to attend afternoon tea, sampling all the cakes. According to one of the artists Kelly Doley: “This work is concentrating on groups of women and why are they coming together. After-all CWA is the oldest women’s organisation in Australia and we are looking at what the relevance of this grass-root organisation is for the younger generation now.“ She added that they chose baking since it is the most popular activity that CWA is known for. Brown Council is hoping to tease out reactions from the audience as well as to provoke them. They want to address the hidden sides of women’s work by stretching it to ugly and grotesque in order to see whether it is feminist and political. Finally Doley assured that the group has done endurance performance for years and feels that they are ready to handle such an extensive task.

Written by Triin Pehk

Aug 28- Sep 1, Country Women’s Association Headquarters, 11 Greenknowe St, Potts Point, Free, performancespace.com.au