The cerebellum, I understand, is largely responsible for the human body's motor facilities, having always been represented in counter-distinction to the 'thinking brain' that is responsible for the higher faculties, those traditionally associated with what distinguished us as humans - abstract thought, moral perception, rationality. The cerebellum, in other words, has languished in a somewhat lesser category, closer to the animal world, associated more with body than with mind. A very fitting title, therefore, for this exhibition of three video works by Australian, American and European artists, which place body and gesture at the very core of human identity.
Both Charles Atlas' 'Teach' - a documentation of legendary Australian drag performer Leigh Bowery lip-synching to Aretha Franklin 's 'Take a Look' - and Monica Tichacek's 'Lineage of the Divine' comprise, at one level, careful and incisive studies of gesture. In 'Teach', Bowery is shot at mid-close range with dark hair in a topknot and face in stage make-up. The key feature, however, is his mouth: he is wearing a set of plastic lips from his costume collection that is literally pinned to his face through piercings in his cheeks. In the first rendition of Franklin's soul lament about the poor state of race relations, Bowery's plastic lips are fixed in a voluptuous smile. No matter what the content of the lyrics, no matter what the performer's emotional state, his face is forced into a celebrity publicity pose. The eyes and head attempt to shake off the shackles, but the viewer's attention is focused on the mouth as it struggles to remain faithful to the soundtrack. In the second rendition, Bowery wears plastic lips closed into a resolute pout. Here, the