From the archive: blackmarket by pvi collective (2015)
let us tell you this. your secret suspicions are true... we are on a collision course for a social, environmental and economic meltdown the likes of which has never been seen before. the party is nearly over.
These were the opening words of pvi collective’s landmark performance blackmarket: commissioned and presented by Performance Space in 2015. Taking audience members onto the streets of Sydney to navigate their way through an imagined financial apocalypse, the work now seems eerily prescient of the social and economic crisis currently facing the world.
blackmarket employed black humour and digital technologies — both of which are now essential tools for all of our survival and wellbeing during this pandemic — to empower its audience to discover skills and survival strategies to equip them for this critical moment in history.
We at PSpace feel that the lessons of this work are timelier than ever, and we invite you to revisit blackmarket with us through:
This digital publication about the work, featuring essays by Jeff Khan, Tulleah Pearce and Rebecca Conroy exploring economic crises, artistic strategies, and possible futures.
This documentation, available on Performance Space’s Vimeo page.
We send our love and respect to our colleagues at pvi collective for their visionary work, and to all artists and communities who are navigating this crisis at the present time. You are essential to our collective future.
— Jeff Khan
PSpace Artistic Director & CEO
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