Charlie Cook is a Manchester-based artist working with sculptures that double up as performance. He brings comedic elements to his practice, taking inspiration on childhood play and memory. Cook’s memorable long tiled ramp and soaped roller-skates at GSA’s 2016 degree show gave a taste of the type of happy-go-lucky hubris to expect of his work.
Round of Applause – Hidden Door Festival 2018
For Hidden Door 2018, Charlie presented ‘Round of Applause’ in the basement of the State Cinema, a large kinetic clapping machine that produced an applause with 30 pairs of wooden hands. The machine performed twice during the festival, each round of applause lasting about 10 seconds. Charlie brilliantly leads us to navigate between tension and humour while appreciating his sculptures and their performance; the anticipation of a work of art that will be its own biggest fan and the comedy of it all.
