Tag: Martin O’Brien

Open Studio: Martin O’Brien

Open Studio with Martin O’Brien

You are invited to enter the lair of the beast. An open studio in hell. Somewhere between a hospital, a morgue, and a BDSM dungeon where headless gimps serve drinks whilst being deep throated by ghosts, serpents emerging from cracks in the floor, and the dead dance on their own graves. Welcome to the strange world of Martin O’Brien. Martin will be displaying elements of his process, including fragments of performance, scores, videos, images, objects, and detritus.

Martin O’Brien is currently in residence developing his new performance, What the Serpent Told Me in the Misty Gloom. The piece will premiere on 15 November at Tate Britain.

This is a unique opportunity to meet Martin, hear more about his artistic practice, and gain insight into his creative process.

Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Artist Talk with Martin O’Brien: 2:00 PM
Entrance:Free – no need to book, just drop in! Your welcome to drop in any time during the Open Studio hours.
Refreshments: Snacks and drinks will be available.

Martin O’Brien is an artist and zombie. He works across performance, writing and video art. His work uses long durational actions, short speculative texts and critical rants, and performance processes in order to explore death and dying, what it means to be born with a life shortening disease, and the philosophical implications of living longer than expected. He has shown work throughout the UK; Europe; USA; and Canada, and is well known for his solo performances and collaborations with the legendary LA artist and dominatrix Sheree Rose. His most recent works were at Tate Britain in 2020, the ICA (London) in 2021, and as Writer in Residence at Whitechapel Gallery in 2023. He is winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize for Visual and Performing Arts 2022. Martin has cystic fibrosis and all of his work and writing draws upon this experience. In 2018, the book ‘Survival of the Sickest: The Art of Martin O’Brien’ was published by Live Art Development Agency. His work has been featured on BBC radio and Sky Arts television, and as a double page spread in The Guardian. He is currently senior lecturer in Live Art, and head of department of Performance, at Queen Mary University of London.

During his residency at Warehouse9, Martin will be working on a new performance What the Serpent Told Me in the Misty Gloom. The performance will premiere at Tate Britain 15 November 2025. Martin will continue his exploration of death, dying, the undead, and ghostly returns through foggy death-scapes, where images are half seen or miss seen. Fog filled grave yards or woods are classic horror film settings. The fog has the potential to hide danger, but also to make the innocent feel dangerous. In the fog, nothing looks or feels the same. The air feels thick, almost suffocating, if you fall asleep in the fog, would you drown?

Click here for Tate Britain premiere tickets

Access Information
Warehouse9 is wheelchair accessible via a level entrance. An accessible toilet is available and can be reached using a certified stairlift.

All events are held in a relaxed environment and follow a safer space policy. We kindly ask visitors to familiarise themselves with the space and the policy upon arrival.

Monday Salon with Martin O’Brien

Join Martin O’Brien as he shares his practice at the Monday Salon at Det Lilla Rum on Monday 18th August.
Martin will share some thoughts emerging out of his art work. He will, particularly, focus on the politics of death in relation to queerness.

Since 2022, the literary collective Det Lilla Rum and the coworking community Kontor Nr. 25 have collaborated to create morning salons for people working in the arts and culture sector. The idea is to provide a space for independents, freelancers, and small cultural institutions where we can support each other, share experiences, and be inspired by one another. Often, one or more individuals are invited to present their work. The intention is for these presentations to serve as a starting point for inspiration and conversation among attendees in an informal and community-oriented setting.

Martin O’Brien is an artist and zombie. He works across performance, writing and video art. His work uses long durational actions, short speculative texts and critical rants, and performance processes in order to explore death and dying, what it means to be born with a life shortening disease, and the philosophical implications of living longer than expected. He has shown work throughout the UK; Europe; USA; and Canada, and is well known for his solo performances and collaborations with the legendary LA artist and dominatrix Sheree Rose. His most recent works were at Tate Britain in 2020, the ICA (London) in 2021, and as Writer in Residence at Whitechapel Gallery in 2023. He is winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize for Visual and Performing Arts 2022. Martin has cystic fibrosis and all of his work and writing draws upon this experience. In 2018, the book ‘Survival of the Sickest: The Art of Martin O’Brien’ was published by Live Art Development Agency. His work has been featured on BBC radio and Sky Arts television, and as a double page spread in The Guardian. He is currently senior lecturer in Live Art, and head of department of Performance, at Queen Mary University of London.
During his residency at Warehouse9, Martin will be working on a new performance. The performance will premiere at Tate Britain in November 2025. The working title of the project is ‘Into the Fog…’. Martin will continue his exploration of death, dying, the undead, and ghostly returns through foggy death-scapes, where images are half seen or miss seen. Fog filled grave yards or woods are classic horror film settings. The fog has the potential to hide danger, but also to make the innocent feel dangerous. In the fog, nothing looks or feels the same. The air feels thick, almost suffocating, if you fall asleep in the fog, would you drown? 
Practical Info:
Language: English
Entrance: Free, just turn up!
Breakfast: vegetarian & vegan breakfast available for those who like with a symbolic charge.
Access Information:
Det Lilla Rum is located on the ground floor of a housing association in a old block of flats. There are 3 steps to enter the building.
This Salon is co-hosted by Det Lilla Rum, Kontor 25 and Warehouse9.

Martin O’Brien: Artist-in-Residence

Martin O’Brien is an artist and zombie. He works across performance, writing and video art. His work uses long durational actions, short speculative texts and critical rants, and performance processes in order to explore death and dying, what it means to be born with a life shortening disease, and the philosophical implications of living longer than expected. He has shown work throughout the UK; Europe; USA; and Canada, and is well known for his solo performances and collaborations with the legendary LA artist and dominatrix Sheree Rose. His most recent works were at Tate Britain in 2020, the ICA (London) in 2021, and as Writer in Residence at Whitechapel Gallery in 2023. He is winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize for Visual and Performing Arts 2022. Martin has cystic fibrosis and all of his work and writing draws upon this experience. In 2018, the book ‘Survival of the Sickest: The Art of Martin O’Brien’ was published by Live Art Development Agency. His work has been featured on BBC radio and Sky Arts television, and as a double page spread in The Guardian. He is currently senior lecturer in Live Art, and head of department of Performance, at Queen Mary University of London.
During his residency at Warehouse9, Martin will be working on a new performance. The performance will premiere at Tate Britain in November 2025. The working title of the project is ‘Into the Fog…’. Martin will continue his exploration of death, dying, the undead, and ghostly returns through foggy death-scapes, where images are half seen or miss seen. Fog filled grave yards or woods are classic horror film settings. The fog has the potential to hide danger, but also to make the innocent feel dangerous. In the fog, nothing looks or feels the same. The air feels thick, almost suffocating, if you fall asleep in the fog, would you drown?
Martin O’Brien will be sharing his practice whilst in residency. Details and dates to come. 

AN AMBULANCE TO THE FUTURE (THE SECOND CHANCE): Martin O’Brien

IPAF & Managing Discomfort presents: An Ambulance to the Future (The Second Chance) by Martin O’Brien


The grim reaper stood there, finally I saw him. His skeletal form sparkled in the moonlight and nothing else existed. This was the deal. He reached out and wrapped his cold, bone hand around my skull. I was lost in the darkness of his cape. He drew me near and kissed me. He tasted like death, and I loved it.


In ‘An Ambulance to the Future (The Second Chance)’, Death pays a man for sex. The price is immortality.

Mixing video, live performance action and parables, the work paints the picture of life lived over and over again, a life that doesn’t need water or oxygen, a life without the promise of an end point. It is a meditation on endings and new beginnings. With his usual intensity and wit, this work continues Martin O’Brien’s explorations of the politics of death by asking what the idea of immortality can help us understood about being mortal.

‘An Ambulance to the Future (The Second Chance)’ premiered at Whitechapel Gallery in May 2023 and was presented as part of Martin O’Brien’s year as ‘Writer-in-Residence’.


Notes for audience
An Ambulance to the Future (The Second Chance) contains nudity, footage of scrotal piercing, discussion of sex and death and spanking.

Double Bill: This performance is a DOUBLE BILL showing with Sall Lam Toro. 1 ticket = access to 2 performances.

Language
English

Access
Husets Teater does not have level free access and is not equipped with stairlifts, and is therefore not accessible for wheelchair users. We recognise that this is not good enough.

The text that Martin O’Brien will be performing in English will be available as limited quantity handouts at the venue.

Credits
Lead artist: Martin O’Brien
Producer: FUTURE RITUAL
Videography: Baiba Sprance and Marco Beradi
Performers (Live): Zack Mennell
Performers (Film): Ali Campbell, Ash McNaughton, Carolyn Naish, Ewan Hindes, Pianka M, Regina Jay

 

About the artists:
Martin O’Brien is an artist and zombie. He works across performance, writing and video art. His work uses long durational actions, short speculative texts and critical rants, and performance processes in order to explore death and dying, what it means to be born with a life shortening disease, and the philosophical implications of living longer than expected. He has shown work throughout the UK; Europe; USA; and Canada, and is well known for his solo performances and collaborations with the legendary LA artist and dominatrix Sheree Rose. His most recent works were at Tate Britain in 2020, and the ICA (London) in 2021. He is winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize for Visual and Performing Arts 2022. He is Writer-in-Residence at Whitechapel Gallery throughout 2023. Martin has cystic fibrosis and all his work and writing draws upon this experience. In 2018, the book ‘Survival of the Sickest: The Art of Martin O’Brien’ was published by Live Art Development Agency. His work has been featured on BBC radio and Sky Arts television. Martin O’Brien is currently senior lecturer in Live Art at Queen Mary University of London

 

An Ambulance to the Future (The Second Chance) is co-presented with TOASTER and Live Art DK and also a part of their Managing Discomfort Performance Festival.

An Ambulance to the Future (The Second Chance) is part of IPAF: an international festival for contemporary performance presenting artists from different cultural contexts, whose work engages identity politics, sexual expressions, and body representations, facilitated by Warehouse9.

The festival is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, the City of Copenhagen and Bispebjerg Lokaludvalg.