Micro Parks – PSpace Social

Overview

Wander through Surry Hills this weekend and you'll encounter wind-powered instruments, dancing babies and long-lost dogs. Following its success as part of last year’s Sydney Festival, Micro Parks is back, this time in the hipster heartland. Five Australian artists will be turning local parks into stages, galleries and playgrounds for one glorious weekend.

One of the artists involved is monster-maker Justin Shoulder (The River Eats), whose work 1001 Baddies will be using costume, props and crafted magical objects to transform Arthur Street Park into a visually tantalising realm. Inspired by the zombie-filled, rainbow-hued drawings of his husband’s six-year old son Zephyr, Shoulder wanted to extend on the theatricality of his costume wearables to create a work suitable for all ages. “I was interested in how kids use role play to respond and mimic the world around them, often playing with violent narratives," he says. "I am curious to see how they are read both by children and adults and what stories they create in the playground with this new sensorial frame."

If you’ve seen Shoulder perform before, you’re probably familiar with at least one of his “fantastic creatures”. Mythical beings embodying both a sense of magic and gritty urbanity, they somehow manage to be confronting yet beautiful, grotesque but majestic, hilarious but wise. As they come to life almost of their own accord, (“I facilitate the creatures more than create them”, says Shoulder), it’s very easy to forget there’s a human beneath the costume.

Shoulder enjoys the “extreme and visceral responses” his performances elicit from audiences, believing the art-in-everyday-contexts nature of Micro Parks will be an opportunity to connect with new audiences. “I also love ... the surreal potential of placing different storytellers in these public sites," he says. "It’s all about the element of surprise and accidental encounters. It is also so invigorating to see live works as an antidote to the dominance of screen culture — let's re-engage the senses!”

Along with 1001 Baddies you’ll be able to check out Three in the Bush by The Fondue Set, (who intriguingly declare: “We will dance. Just us. No guests. Just babies. Maybe a few babies from time to time”), a play-meets-protest work in Joan Ross’s Possession is 9/10th of the law: please keep off the grass, a wind-powered musical performance entitled Calliope’s Nest by Ensemble Offspring and Malcolm Whittaker’s My Best Friend, a performative walk in memory of loved and lost pet dogs.

Micro Parks is part of Performance Space's PSpace Social season of multidisciplinary works taking place in Surry Hills and Darlinghurst. Check out the full program on the Performance Space website.