2 Reputations to Uphold
2023, Intermission Gallery
I'M A CELEBRITY B2B GET ME OUT OF HERE
Durational performance, 56 mins
Intermission Gallery, Monash University
3rd October, 2023
Presented as part of 2 Reputations to Uphold, I’M A CELEBRITY B2B GET ME OUT OF HERE was a 56-minute live performance by artist duo 2 Halves as A Whole, archived via Instagram Live.
Framed as a tongue-in-cheek “VIP Party of the Year,” the work invited (and subsequently rejected) participation from unsuspecting gallery visitors. Set within a partitioned space at Monash University’s Intermission Gallery, the performance featured a side-room lit with colourful lights and loud music — separated from the main gallery space by a sequined privacy curtain and guarded by a “bouncer” (artist Emma Weatherley). Inside, performers Paige Templeton and Ali Bagnato danced to a curated mix of early-2000s pop and EDM remixes, DJed by Templeton on her self-proclaimed “first day on the job.” Behind them, a fluorescent textile work titled Dance Wiv Me glowed under black light.
Throughout the event, audience members were encouraged — through Instagram Live comments and indirect cues — to attempt entry. Upon approaching the curtain, however, they were met with the question: “This event is VIP only — is your name on the list?” Holding a blank sheet of paper, Weatherley denied entry to all, replying, “You’re not on the list, you can’t come in.”
As the private “party” unfolded out of reach, visitors were left to circle the main gallery space, viewing static works while glimpsing the performers only through a live-streamed Instagram video, projected from a laptop on a nearby plinth. Instagram Live became the sole point of access to the event, underscoring a mediated sense of exclusion — and collective FOMO.
Through humour, staged gatekeeping, and platformed performance, I’M A CELEBRITY B2B GET ME OUT OF HERE satirised systems of cultural capital, visibility, and exclusivity — ultimately reinforcing the duo’s ongoing commitment to uphold their “2 Reputations”.