Index: Turnstile by Gino Saccone

Turnstile by Gino Saccone 15th September 2006

While I was covering the launch of the Liverpool Biennial for FAD magazine, I stumbled upon this silent group of marchers holding placards which held no words, only mirrors. I wasn't sure whether this was an artwork, a protest, or... what. It was beautiful, mysterious, and a little frightening.

The views reflected in the mirrors changed radically every fraction of a second, as they swayed around with people walking, so it was impossible to prepare for a shot, I just stalked around them and fired off several dozen shots as they walked by. Curiously, they all more-or-less ignored me as I was photographing them, until the very last marcher got alongside me: he looked at me shooting, turned, and angled his banner down towards me so that I could get a photograph of myself.

Afterwards, I discovered this explanation in the Liverpool Biennial Independents press release:
London-based performance artist Gino Saccone presents community-led performance work, Turnstile. Working with asylum seekers, Turnstile takes the celebratory aspects of the parade, merged with the immediacy, vigor and enmity of the protest and collapses them together to form a public procession that invites interaction, dialogue, human contact and engaged experience. The piece aims to reveal the nature of misgivings and apprehensions, definitions and stereotypes associated with the term 'asylum seeker' and replaces them with opportunity and communication.

Protest placards and banners have been constructed though workshops using mirrored material. These mirrored banners reflect the surroundings in this reconstruction of a protest march.

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While I was covering the launch of the Liverpool Biennial for FAD magazine, I stumbled upon this silent group of marchers holding placards which held no words, only mirrors. I wasn't sure whether this was an artwork, a protest, or... what. It was beautiful, mysterious, and a little frightening. The views reflected in the mirrors changed radically every fraction of a second, as they swayed around with people walking, so it was impossible to prepare for a shot, I just stalked around them and fired off several dozen shots as they walked by. Curiously, they all more-or-less ignored me as I was photographing them, until the very last marcher got alongside me: he looked at me shooting, turned, and angled his banner down towards me so that I could get a photograph of myself. Afterwards, I discovered this explanation in the Liverpool Biennial Independents press release: London-based performance artist Gino Saccone presents community-led performance work, *Turnstile. Working with asylum seekers, Turnstile* takes the celebratory aspects of the parade, merged with the immediacy, vigor and enmity of the protest and collapses them together to form a public procession that invites interaction, dialogue, human contact and engaged experience. The piece aims to reveal the nature of misgivings and apprehensions, definitions and stereotypes associated with the term 'asylum seeker' and replaces them with opportunity and communication. Protest placards and banners have been constructed though workshops using mirrored material. These mirrored banners reflect the surroundings in this reconstruction of a protest march.






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