Performers: 2Fik, Ali Kaviani and Guy Nader

A male performer (dancer) of Persian, Muslim or Arab heritage responds live to a set of prerecorded instructions such as spit, pray, swear. Performing the same instructions, in the video, is Ashery’s alter ego at the time, Marcus Fisher. Influenced by Fluxes scores for actions, these Semitic instructions engender a projected image of a Middle Eastern psyche, as seen through western eyes. This is part of Ashery’s exploration of the Semitic body and gender materiality. .

Semitic Score was performed in Teatru-spalatorie, Chișinău, 2012; La Porta, Barcelona, 2011; Ljubljana Pavilion, Venice Biennial, 2011; Trouble Festival, Brussels, 2011; Modern Art Oxford, Night & Day, 2010; Studio 303, commissioned by Kris Nelson, Montreal, 2010; Live@8, Galway, Ireland, 2010