The Losers Show (2016)
is a multidisciplinary happening about lotto and losing. People refers to the losing tickets as " LOSERS " hence the title for the show. The environment is composed of loser tickets, and unscratched and sealed forever lotto tickets. Within this scene a participatory performance unfolds in which the audience plays darts to gain access to drinks, and two dancers move over a sidewalk of quarters during the 4 hours installation. The interdisciplinary work is a direct confrontation with and meditation on popular gambling and on losing, winning and luck. Rotating Planet by Milosz Koziej; Graffiti installation by Sam Pullin. Performers in this edition: Giada Citarella and Laura Quattrocchi.
is a multidisciplinary happening about lotto and losing. People refers to the losing tickets as " LOSERS " hence the title for the show. The environment is composed of loser tickets, and unscratched and sealed forever lotto tickets. Within this scene a participatory performance unfolds in which the audience plays darts to gain access to drinks, and two dancers move over a sidewalk of quarters during the 4 hours installation. The interdisciplinary work is a direct confrontation with and meditation on popular gambling and on losing, winning and luck. Rotating Planet by Milosz Koziej; Graffiti installation by Sam Pullin. Performers in this edition: Giada Citarella and Laura Quattrocchi.
About the Losers Show
During walks around my neighborhood in Jersey City I noticed a lot of scratch tickets on the ground. I started to collect them and I quickly realized how much money people spend every day on them. I started to observe how many sales point there were around my house - and the people scratching. I collected for about a year and read about the Instant Lottery, winning statistics. It's called a tax on the poor, a racket in which the government is the house. The winning odds over time are horrible. The biggest concentration of selling points are poor neighborhoods.
My response was to create The LOSERS SHOW, a work of visual art, movement and games: an absurd scene where entertainment mixes with often tragic realities of lotto. During the process, I started a game with the neighborhood. I asked them to " BRING ME YOUR LOSERS " and used the losing scratch tickers to make a 28' high Billboard. I spelled the word LOSERS with the tickets and hung it on building's exterior. I also pieced together torn tickets, and created a mosaic work on the storefont gallery window; in the night the backlight revealed the movements of tearing. I also bought scratch tickets in every state I traveled but never scratched them; instead I sealed them with epoxy and called them "WINNERS"; finally I developed the performance on a street of quarters. Milosz Koziej created the rotating planet and Sam Pullin the skull and cannon mural. The audience invited to the LOSER SHOW had to play darts to win a drink or a snack.
SHOW HISTORY
2016 Shua Space, Jersey City
2019 Detroit Main Public Library ( excerpt ), Safespace exhibit
2019 UM Dept of Theatre and Drama, Ann Arbor ( excerpt )
Press
Jersey City Independent article
