onlytheantscansaveusnow

‘Energetic, powerful and somewhat hateful.
Get real.
Look upon my works – and despair.
Anyway, thanks for coming out.’

A performance about the boundaries of Real Emo and the boundaries of self-pity.

nothing beside remains is a short piece of performance bringing drawing from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ozymandias, the ‘real emo’ copypasta, and my own experiences – both of navigating music history, and feeling really low.

It was made as part of a self-imposed intensive at University of Salford in January 2023. It came after a ‘term’s worth’ of weekly studio sessions and explorations. This was my first experience of making anything in over two years. It was a bit of a sink-or-swim thing that I was mostly happy with by the end. You can read more reflections on this piece here.

Video version below. Please be advised that nothing beside remains contains strong language, and frank discussion of suicidal ideation.

If you do watch this performance, I’d love it if you could answer a few questions about it!