The profound mystery of Reassembled, Slightly Askew—A curatorial statement by Heather Redfern

January 09, 2018

I had a very personal reaction to Reassembled, Slightly Askew. A few months before I experienced the show, a family member experienced multiple brain seizures and I was one of the caregivers. Until this had happened I’ve never really been exposed to a person with brain injuries. In fact, once I began to learn about brain injuries, I realized that there are many suffering from injuries brought on by everything from multiple concussions to brain seizures that happen for no apparent reason. I learned that the brain and what happens to it is often a mystery and that how it heals is an even greater one.

As a person Reassembled, Slightly Askew had a profound effect on me. As a curator, I was fascinated by the form the artist, Shannon Yee, chose and the way she decided to make her work. She approached her own experience with the eye of a researcher and the heart of an artist. She invited scientists, artists, and her partner into the experience of creation. Then she brings us, the audience, into the work by literally putting us into her head in her hospital bed. I wanted to share this work in Vancouver because not only do we have much to learn about brain injury but we also can experience empathy by “walking in another’s shoes.” When the audience walks out of this performance they will be changed. I am grateful to Shannon for her generosity in bringing this work to us.

Heather Redfern
Executive Director
The Cultch

Fearlessly personal and forthrightly political, Northern Irish playwright Shannon Yee uses her perspective as a queer, female, ethnic minority artist to create works that excite and subvert. Due to its immersive nature, Reassembled, Slightly Askew has very limited capacity. Advance booking is strongly recommended.