Gargoyles (Tee Hee Ha Ha Heh Heh)
2025
performance in three acts of 10 mins each
Jan van Eyck Academie Open Studios, Maastricht
Gargoyles is an ongoing project that characterises different masculine archetypes in relation to acts of laughter. Laughter can be a spontaneous outburst, an uncontrolled and chaotic eruption from the body—bringing people together in a giggling mess. Conversely, laughter can be calculated, manipulative, and divisive—reinforcing structures of domination and carrying implicit violence. Within patriarchal structures, laughter circulates as a marker of complicity and dominance between men, whilst also having the potential to expose vulnerabilities and create moments of interpersonal synchronicity.
The characters were expanded upon in three semi-improvisational performances that took place at Jan van Eyck open studios 2025. The three characters: The Boss, The Lad and The Friend, exhibit both insecurities and implicit and explicit violence and threat. What links them is the act of laughter itself, how it relates to power and control. We never really know where we are—where the characters end and the artist begins, whether we are watching stand up or a confessional.