It’s Just Like Any Other Job Really – Dedicated To World Peace

source: sarahmaple

Sarah Maple was born in 1985. She completed a BA in Fine Art from Kingston University in 2007, and now lives in her native Sussex. In the same year she also won the ‘4 New Sensations’ competition for emerging artists, run by Charles Saatchi. Since then Sarah’s artwork, films and performances have been exhibited in New York, Canada, Israel and throughout Europe.

‘Not for the coy or faint of heart, these unflinching, occasionally even controversial, investigations into what it is to be a woman and a Muslim in 21st century Britain are made joyful by her own very personal brand of boisterous, tongue-in-cheek humour. This is not sensationalism for sensationalism’s sake, but rather a heart felt urge by a twenty-seven-year old artist of great sincerity and talent, for the viewer to look again, and this time with a more questioning eye, at traditionally accepted notions of identity, gender, culture and religion.’ – Beverley Knowles 2011
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source: beverleyknowles

Artist Sarah Maple and writer / curator Beverley Knowles will be taking part in a week-long series of talks and performances at La Scatola Gallery wherein developments and trends in contemporary art will be explored.

On Friday 30 March they will present It’s Just Like Any Other Job Really – Dedicated to World Peace, a collaborative performance influenced by feminist and non-feminist art history, particularly the performative works of artists such as VALIE EXPORT, Carolee Schneeman, Marina Abramovich, Tehching Hsieh and Andrea Fraser. ‘Dedicated to World Peace’ also makes particular reference to Santiago Sierra’s Group of Persons Facing a Wall, a provocative work staged at Tate Modern on 21 April 2008.

Dedicated to World Peaceinvestigates relationships between women through the metaphor of the annual Miss World competition, which extraordinarily outmoded pageant continues to roll on year after year. It will also highlight the cliches and stereotypes of what is seen to constitute femininity, of what it is to be a woman in 2012. The piece does not wish to engage a reductive or didactic view of feminism and gender roles but rather seeks to ask questions about the binary position of gender – performance verses essence. It is also interested in issues of choice or lack there of.

Influenced by artists such as Jeremy Deller and John Gerrard, Sarah Maple and Beverley Knowles wish to abnegate individual authorship and present the piece as a group collaboration between themselves and the participants in this faux Miss World. Upon entering the gallery the viewer also becomes an inadvertent participant in the competition for world supremacy.

Excerpts from The Diary of Miss World…

October
Today was my first day as Miss World and time to meet the press! I am still a little amazed at what has happened to me. It is sinking in more now but when I spoke to my family last night, it was an incredible feeling. My family got together to watch the Final on TV and my mum called me right after. She was so excited and there was shouting and celebrations in the background. I went online to speak with friends and suddenly everyone was there waiting for me. I couldn’t believe how many people were congratulating me at once. They even managed to bring my two dogs to the camera. I am looking forward to what the following days will bring, and I am excited to see what lies in store for me for the year ahead!

November
Since being crowned Miss World In October, I have been so very busy. Each morning I attend an English teaching school near to where I’m staying in London, spending four hours a day in an intense English class learning the language at a rapid pace. I’ll be returning home at the end of the month! Getting home and seeing my people, for me, is the first part of this journey. Then, I’ll be embarking on my ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ journey around the world in the New Year, which I am so incredibly excited about. Now I can begin helping all those disadvantaged people around the world and raise money for good causes. My aim is to raise a record amount!

February
I have been so busy, already I have visited some incredible places and have met some wonderful people, from many different cultures and backgrounds. I visited Russia and had a few days of sightseeing in Moscow, starting at the Kremlin, the residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

March
I was lucky enough to be travelling again and started my trip around Cambodia this month, it has been amazing. The people are so warm and friendly, I have been made to feel welcome everywhere I go. I looked around the museums and also attended a theatre performance with everyone in full costume. It was so colourful! I will leave Cambodia with so many happy memories

July
I have had a really good time during my stay in China this week. I was on stage for the signing ceremony announcing the Miss World 2010 Final to take place in Sanya. I had never seen so many journalists and photographers at a press conference before! I gave a speech at the conference and told the reporters that I am delighted that the Final will be held in Sanya as I really like it there. The people are nice and friendly, the beaches are amazing, and I think the Miss World contestants who will be travelling there this year will love it as much as I do. I also had the pleasure of taking a trip to Ordos, one of the key destinations in this year’s contest. I received a very warm welcome, and everyone there was happy to see me, with a special dinner given to mark the visit. I am looking forward to returning there already. While I will be sad as my Miss World experience will soon be coming to a close, I am very happy that the place to end my year will be Sanya.