Performance: Chloe Langlois & Emily Hought

An evening of live art celebrating contemporary performance practice and the different ways it is brought to life.

Blurring lines between movement, ritual, sound, voice, and body, the meaning of performance art will be tested, and its impermanence questioned.

At Humber Street Gallery we are interested in bringing new performance works to the city and providing space for artists to explore and share challenging work. Our city has a long history of radical performance, from COUM Transmissions to Hull Time Based Arts, and the spaces which exist in our city today, like Hull Artist Research Initiative and Ground, which champion artists working in live art.

With a contemporary community of artists exploring the potential of sound, dance, and theatre in their work, we want to celebrate Hull as a place where expectations are challenged and where new understandings of art can emerge.

We understand performance art as art which happens in live and recorded contexts, and which in some way challenges the relationship between artist and witness.

Sometimes this work is experienced whilst it is performed, and other times its existence is documented through photography or film. We think of performance art to exist in a blurriness between choreography and spontaneity, and as a method for artists and audiences alike to process the changing relationship between the body and the spaces it exists and moves in.

This is not a fixed description and will change as our understanding develops, and as the artists we work with and encounter widen our perception.

At our performance events, you can expect to experience:

Live readings of poetry and spoken word.

Artists using their voice and instruments to create new sounds.

Visual projections of film and moving images.

Alternative interpretations of dance and movement.

About the artists

Emily Hought

Emily Hought is a multimedia and performance artist who creates solitary live characters as performative guises to explore ritual and social awkwardness. Beginning with abstract collages, drawing from cubist portraiture, she makes masks, costumes, puppets, and dolls from papier-mâché, textiles, and cardboard, incorporating crochet and knitting as forms of textile-based construction. Her handmade objects foreground slow craft labour, inviting play and humour whilst emphasising time, and care. Referencing historical fashions, clowning, and traditions of masquerade, Emily embodies these characters as a means to confront personal anxieties; reframing them as sites of transformation.

“My practice unfolds from an ethos in which play and alternative performance can open space for reflection and new ways of understanding the absurdities of everyday life.”

www.instagram.com/emilyhought/

www.emilyhought.com/about

Chloe Langlois

Originally from London, Chloe Langlois completed her BA in Painting at Chelsea College of Art, then worked in a betting shop for nearly eight years, moved to Nottingham, and returned to the compulsion of art making after finding a group of weirdos with similar tastes in art, comedy, and the occult. During the pandemic she completed her MA in Contemporary Art Practice: Moving Image at the Royal College of Art, and moved into an ex care home with thirty people she didn’t know, making much of her work there with her housemates as cast and crew. Since then she has been mostly trying to contact her Holy Guardian Angel, Hot Snakes, via performances, videos, and a radio show on RTM.fm.

To mark the return of the sun, with your assistance Chloe will enact the Mithras Liturgy, a spell for divine revelation and momentary immortality (PGM IV 475 – 829). She will almost certainly have changed, lost, and forgotten integral parts of the invocation, but together we will “ascend into heaven as inquirers and behold the universe” or leave confused and disappointed.

@clolanglois on IG

www.cargocollective.com/chloelanglois

Accessibility

Is Humber Street Gallery wheelchair accessible?

Yes. You can access every part of the gallery without steps. The entrance is level with the street, and there’s a lift to all floors, including the rooftop.

Do you have accessible toilets?

Yes. We have one all-gender accessible toilet on the ground floor with grab rails and emergency pull cords.

Can I bring my assistance dog?

Absolutely. We welcome guide dogs, hearing dogs and other trained assistance animals throughout the building.

Do you provide large print or accessible exhibition guides?

Yes. We offer large print as standard and Dyslexia-friendly versions of exhibition texts. You can pick them up in the gallery or download them from the exhibition pages of our website.

Is there somewhere quiet I can go if I need a break?

We know the gallery can sometimes feel busy or overwhelming. Ask a member of staff and we’ll help you find a quieter space to take a moment.

Do you offer sensory-friendly experiences?

Some exhibitions include sensory content and we have regular quiet hours. We also have ear defenders available to borrow at the front desk. If you need anything specific, get in touch before your visit. You can find details of our noisy and quiet hours at the top of this page.

Is there Blue Badge parking nearby?

Yes. There are Blue Badge parking bays on Humber Street and surrounding roads, just a short distance from the gallery.

Are your events and workshops accessible?

We aim to make all events as accessible as possible. Access details vary depending on the activity, so check individual listings or contact us with any questions.

What if I have an access need that’s not listed here?

We’re happy to chat and find ways to support your visit. You can call us, email us or drop in for a conversation.