The first of many intervention-performance-happening-hard to describe but worth the extra breath to describe events by the Brainbow collective, Brainbow Lounge was part of September's ArtHotel, a monthly-ish event featuring a variety of performance works hosted at Hotel Espresso. Strangeness followed, as performers, art-hotel-goers and hotel patrons blended into one surreal vacation party.

Don't be fooled into thinking nothing happened- you can identify an Art Lounge by the following signs:

a) Inappropriate mixing of leopard print, sportsware and fancy dress
b) Projected vacation photos on every surface
c) Disconcerting, boisterous laughter
d) People having a good time in the hotel lounge

Still, even with these tell tale signs, I was often unsure of who was part of the Brainbow lounge. More than once, I began to believe I was a performer, tossing a beach ball with strangers and even adopting a pet rhino for a while. I don't think I was the only "guest" of the first Brainbow Lounge that suffered this confusion, all around me there was what might be described as audience-performer interaction if you could only be certain who was part of the audience and exactly who the performers were.

Another Arthotel is scheduled for October 15th and I should probably get back there; last time I hardly managed to get out of the Lounge for long enough to locate the other performances.

A newly formed multi-media collective, Brainbow Limb is Jasa Baka, Julia Thomas and Matthew Waddell. The trio, whose eclectic backgrounds range from dance to theatre design to projection work and film-making, will undertake a period of intensive production from October to November; hosting public workshops, performances and participating in the Biennale d'art performatif de Rouyn-Noranda at L'Ecart, Lieu d'Art Actuel.

Image credits: Brainbow Limb