“X Performances” utilises public space as a place of dialogue and negotiation. The public road is a space circumscribed by a social compact that determines interaction. But where the rules of the road are thought to be inviolable, “X Performances” humanises that space with a vulnerability that delays the enforcement of pure will or the law. “X Performances” is a series of performances that began in 2007. Colourfully costumed performers lie on the ground, solo or in groups, making an “X” with their bodies – but the space for this action is typically a busy city street momentarily vacated of traffic when oncoming cars, buses and trucks are stopped by traffic lights. Before the lights change, the performers get up and move quickly off the road. This work was staged in the middle of Saigon [2007], in Sydney’s busy central business district and outside Redfern railway station [2007], in Cologne in Germany [2008] and in Dunedin in New Zealand [2009].
Schwenk worked with the architectural firm, tonkin zulaikha greer in Sydney, on a submission for a public performative scupture, based on a performance of X in the City of Perth. The project has not been realized (as yet).