Debra Petrovitch
Solace in Black Sun

Solace in Black Sun created a new form of dramaturgy, one that relied on the audience to bring it to life. The work was produced in the tradition of Artaud, in that one entered the multiscreen video installation as though they are going to the dentist and all feelings are left on the 'operating table'. Layed bare are the internal forces of corporeal being through the artists divisive exploration of ritual and consistent challenge, exposed through disruption, implosion, dissection and unrelenting struggle. Petrovich feels Artaud can never be exemplified; the artist is instead driven by an Artaudian force, which once taken up, allows her to create work from a feeling of liberation and purification. This, at times, acts as a counterpoint to what Petrovitch understands as a commercialised, sold-out society.