Friend Request, Kathryn Ashill

Photography: Andreia Pocas

In Friend Request by Kathryn Ashill, the artist wore a white dress and stood inside of a circle marked on the floor with chalk and labelled ‘Kathryn Ashill’s Profile’. An adjacent wall panel inscribed in blue outlined instructions to the audience, and blue ribbons hung down from it. As members of the audience approached Ashill, they collected a ribbon and tied it to the artist’s wrist, ankle, or place of choice, with the other end of the ribbon then tied to themselves. Once connected, Ashill introduced herself and described her ‘likes’ then kissed the participant’s cheek and encouraged them to exchange details about themselves. As the performance developed, the gathering of people around Ashill grew, meaning that each exchange was more public. Kathryn invited participants to write on her dress which was her ‘wall’. This performance created a physical representation of relationships formed on online networks such as Facebook, and depicted Ashill’s concerns with the social impacts of these networks.

Exhibition of documentation