Josiah Clow

An exploration of intersecting ideas such as commentary, humour, tasks and body.

Josiah Clow’s practice is centred around performance-based videos with key explorations of camera, body, commentary and life. Installed on TVs placed on side tables and small furnishings, they act as islands to bounce between viewing content that is nostalgic and funny. This research project challenges ideas of art being life and commentary has a humorous take on our tasks and hobbies.
Contextual Commentary is very much about my hobbies and the mundane activities I enjoy taking on a humorous quality by poking fun at myself through commentary. Because I am simultaneously assigned as a sportscaster my criticality isn’t taken seriously, even though my critical thoughts were present in my performance of the task. Making a bed or skating on a walkway might seem like normal activities but instead can be transformed into performances with critical thinking. It's not the camera that dictates this subtle effect rather the individual realises that one is performing as themselves in the task at hand. Marina Abramović describes her journey with performance art which relates to my making processes. She states, “Studio is the worst place the artist should ever be. The art comes from life, not through studio”.