The Object Lesson

Boxes – and the objects in them – are the remains of life. And for the esoteric American performance artist Geoff Sobelle, this means they’re ripe for exploration.

You’re invited into his space – in this case, stacks of cardboard boxes installed into Sydney Town Hall – with the suggestion you open some of the boxes, rifle through them and see what you learn.

Audience members then take their seats, amongst the boxes wherever they choose, as Sobelle appears. Some of the boxes are marked “seat” for guests to use. Most actually have stools inside them.

It’s soon revealed that others boxes contain useful things too, not so much for the audience but Sobelle himself. He makes up a little room from items he recovers: lamps, a chair, rug, table and telephone. From this room he begins a journey, telling us stories, sometimes in conversation with a particular guest or even himself (the use of a telephone and dictaphone is ingenious). He reveals objects that relate to – and help explain – those stories: goats cheese and wine, a jar of old dirt, a traffic light.

The Object Lesson is directed by David Neumann and Sobelle is the only performer. As far as we know, he’s simply playing himself; he’s certainly playing with us. He creates magic, through visual or indeed aural illusions (over the telephone).

The performance is somewhat improvised and there is a moment when the pace slows and the stories seem a little too obscure. But the more performative moments are enthralling and the central idea repeatedly fascinates. His constant interaction with the audience means it never really feels like a one-man show.

The Object Lesson hits its dramatic high as Sobelle flirts with and seduces a female audience member. Wearing ice skates, he prepares and serves a meal. It’s very funny but also poignant when she leaves.

The show’s finale is a great visual illusion: like a magician, he pulls the entire contents of a home from a bottomless box, improvising with a seemingly endless stream of objects. The lesson here is what objects say about him or us – even if they’re of little worth materially. All the value here is sentimental.

The technical side of the performance is brilliant – from Sobelle’s absurdist skills to Steven Dufala’s installation design and Christopher Kuhl’s wonderful lighting (primarily using what first appears to be a random set of lamps).

The Object Lesson probably won’t change many lives but it’s one of those works that makes us think differently, if just for a moment, about who we are. It’s the type of performance we rarely see in Australia except at festivals (indeed, I’ve never before seen someone dance in ice skates on a dining table). It’s well worth rummaging through some boxes – and hearing Sobelle’s masterful telling of the stories inside.

Peter Gotting

Images: Jeremy Abrahams

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