In Antiquity, an operating theatre was a non-sterilized amphitheater where students and curious spectators could observe doctors work on chirurgical procedures. Nowadays, communication technologies allow doctors and scientists anywhere in the world to conduct operations from afar –including to astronauts in space missions. This is called e-health or telemedicine, and this was the starting point for Audrey Cottin’s “O.perating T.heatre O.T.”, a series of performances organized by episodes, each involving live video stream transmissions between specific locations.
Audrey Cottin’s artistic practice is transdisciplinary— at once between, through, and beyond all disciplines. Each project is a singular collaboration with artists, technicians, neighbors, theorists, scientists that makes forms come and occur. She has shown and made work in solo and group contexts in Belgium, France and Brazil. Cottin is a participant at A.pass programme and is represented by Galerie Tatjana Pieters. Cottin has appeared in several performances and collaborations, a.o. as a scenario contributor with & for Chiara Fumai’s pavillion at Documenta 13, Kassel (DE). Her collective project ‘Clapping Group’ has been appearing at several venues throughout Belgium, France, Hungary & USA. O.perating T.heatre has been performed since 2013 at Bienal de Artes Visuais do Mercosul, Brazil; Pompidou, Paris, France; S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium; CCBrugge & Bombardier Factory, Brugge, Belgium; at «L’époque, les humeurs, les valeurs, l’attention», Prix d’entreprise Fondation Paul Ricard, Fondation D’entreprise Ricard, Paris, France and Lokaal01, Antwerpen, Belgium.