With a "look what I found," a summery dawn broke over the
gardens of a hippy art college in Devon and Tom's twin brother
introduced him to Sharon. This was 18 years ago and all three were high
on drugs.
For the next 16 years, their paths crossed
irregularly - she went out with his friend, he went out with her
friend's friend; both submerging into the continental avant garde -
until they bumped into each other in an arty nightclub in London in the
summer of 2009.
Over
a fried egg and cheese bap, en route to a music festival in
Cambridgeshire the very next day, they rolled into a conversation about
science, pseudoscience and the sex wars that has never really stopped. A
conversation which has manifested itself in music, text, recording,
video, photography, installation and a series of public performances.
Founder member of Max Factory (UK), member of Gob Squad (Berlin) and
collaborator with Magpie improvisation dance collective (Amsterdam), Sharon Smith is a performance artist and writer. For the last 16 years, she has
run the Blue Stocking Social Club, rooting experimental performance in a
northern English tradition of community and audience engagement. She completed her PhD in Performance in 2004.
Over
the last decade Tom Parkinson has developed a practice as an
independent composer and musician working primarily in an
interdisciplinary context. This has involved music for television, film
and radio and over 40 scores for the stage including award winning
theatre and dance productions, much of which feature live music and
performance. His work spans installation and performance art to pop
music.
