Lee Campbell (London, UK): A DAY OUT WITH RUFUS

A DAY OUT WITH RUFUS by Lee Campbell Extending Lee\’s previous performances into gay male coupledom – HOW CAN I GET MY PARTNER TO BE MY FINGER? and WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE FOR DINNER? – this performance is centred around a conversation that takes place between a gay male couple – one present – Lee, and one technologically distant, – Lee’s partner, Alex. Alex ‘speaks through’ Lee’s finger via a tape-recording. As a result of lockdown, many of us have spent far greater time at home with our partners. Lee and Alex’s ongoing conversations about getting a dog form the narrative content . This performance relates to what Alex remembers and what Lee remembers about a shared experience: a day out with Rufus the dog, the dog they dog-sit. As individual memories aren’t always shared, the conversation might reveal some startling yet humorous differences in terms of each person’s recollection.

BIO: Dr Lee Campbell is an artist, experimental filmmaker, performer, curator, lecturer at University of the Arts London and founder of Homo Humour Films, the first of its kind project on contemporary queer male film and moving image practices that explore humour and LGBTQ+ storytelling. He completed a BA in Painting in 2000, a Masters in Painting in 2007 and received his doctorate PhD in 2016 and is s part of the artist studio programme Conditions. Key performances include Whitstable Biennale 2008 and artist residencies at The Banff Centre, Canada 2012 and Spazju Kreattiv, Malta 2019. This year, he created a live solo performance for KELDER projects, London and Miami International Performance Festival. He was awarded a Special Mention at London-Worldwide Comedy Short Film Festival Autumn 2019 and won Semi-Finalist (3rd place winner) at SPLICE Film Festival, New York in 2020. His work recently screened at STATES OF DESIRE: Tom of Finland in the Queer Imagination, Philadelphia, USA. ARTIST’S WEBSITE