“An Occupation of Loss” Performance by Taryn Simon Premieres on September 13 at Park Avenue Armory, New York

A combination of performance, sound, and architecture, “An Occupation of Loss” is a new artwork by TARYN SIMON which will map the ways in which grief is programmed. The sculptural installation will gather 30 professional mourners, also called moirologists, from around the world each night at sundown, and broadcast their lamentations. Open during the daytime, visitors are invited to activate the sculpture of inverted wells with their own sounds, as a subtle drone created from recordings of the mourners’ rituals provides echoes of the evening performances.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Purple for issue 26, out now, Simon speaks of the professional mourners “…you can’t really determine where the theatrical ends and the authentic begins. They get lost in the moment, the space, and in the profession itself. I find that complexity quite scary – that we don’t even know who we are, even in the most extreme moments of being. Are we still operating in the machine and under certain instructions that we are not even aware of?”

The performance will launch on September 13th until September 25th at the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, Park Avenue Armory in New York. Simon will also be in conversation with renowned scholar Homi K. Bhabha, Director of the Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University on Saturday, September 24, at 6 PM.

Click here for more information on the “An Occupation of Loss” performance by Taryn Simon

Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery

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