Leading performance artist Bobby Baker will lift the lid on mental illness with the World premiere of her new show Mad Gyms and Kitchens at the Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts (ICIA) at the University on Friday, 14 October.
From working-out to chilling-out, via the kitchen sink, Bobby’s wellness road show investigates how to get better at feeling better, and even includes a cup of tea for audience members.
The show on 14 October will launch the UK tour, and has been commissioned by the ICIA as part of the World Mental Health Day celebrations, with further performances scheduled for next year as part of the Cultural Olympiad in the lead up to the London 2012.
The show is based around Bobby’s own experiences of mental illness and recovery and is told through a series of large flight cases which she will open throughout the course of the show revealing a compendium of top tips for well-being including a beautifully crafted gym, kitchen and rest and leisure zone.
The show will explore notions of what is good for our well-being, from the health benefits of exercising and nutrition to issues relating to modern daily life.
Bobby said: “Mad Gyms and Kitchens is about how I got better physically after years of ill health, and only being seen as someone who was ‘mentally disordered’.
“People like us are always given advice on how we should ‘keep fit, look after yourself, be well’. Even if well-meant this advice can be patronising – or just add to our list of personal ‘failures’.
“So this show is my riposte and demonstrates my ‘top tips for me’. The show also encourages the audience to contribute their own tips so that maybe, in this maddening world, we can all be our own experts on what it means to be well?”
ICIA’s relationship with Bobby Baker began in 2003 and includes the first exhibition of Bobby Baker’s Diary Drawings in 2006. In 2010 Bobby Baker and sculptor Charlie Whittuck conducted a research and development residency for Mad Gyms & Kitchens at ICIA, resulting in an exhibition and talk.
Mad Gyms & Kitchens has been co-commissioned for Unlimited, a project celebrating disability, arts, culture and sport on an unprecedented scale, as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
The project is principally funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor, and is delivered in partnership between London 2012, Arts Council England, the Scottish Arts Council, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the British Council.