LOOKS like a tourist
LOOKS LIKE A TOURIST is a new, site-specific, large scale choreographic work designed to be presented in public space, specifically iconic tourist destinations.
It brings together 50+ community participants donning inflatable orange suits, for an en masse, visual spectacle exploring the behaviours and impacts of tourism on our built environments. Created by award-winning artists and choreographers Daniele Constance and Ashleigh Musk, Like a Tourist aims to rewrite a narrative of disconnect from the romanticism of touristic adventures (being a tourist) to the potentially disturbing and damaging effects tourists (and humans at large) have on our natural (and social) environments. The orange suits strive to create a position of cultural and demographic anonymity, allowing the wearers to become unidentified strangers, exploring iconic destinations in a touristic and unencumbered way. It creates a liminal space for belonging and not belonging, while concurrently highlighting the inherent nature of tourism as a culture of estrangement and consumption.
While audience members watch from designated viewing locations, 50+ performing participants saturate an iconic tourist destination with scale, dynamism and influence. Drawing on the actions, physicalities and movements of ‘tourists’ as the foundation for the choreographic score; while nostalgic tourism advertisements, cash and urban development sounds shape the complimenting sound composition.
Image credits: Jorge Serra and Jade Ellis
“ “An unmissable orange pop in the landscape, this work is more than just a spectacle, it connects audiences to their surroundings through meaningful moments of play and reflection. I truly adored Looks Like a Tourist and would love to see it tour Australia. What a great way to activate public space!””
CREATIVE TEAM
Director - Daniele Constance
Choreographer - Ashleigh Musk
Sound Design - Anna Whitaker
Dramaturgy - Liesel Zink
Collaborating Artists - Katina Olsen, Lauren Watson