Knaves of Radiance
A rare image of the Knaves, in full force, just before the cucumber duel took place. 30th of August 2018 in front of the United States Embassy in London, under the Nine Elms Pavilion.
This is one of the most notable public appearances of the Knaves, who since June 2017, had been challenging themselves in a variety of manners: banana duels, nuts duels, whistle duels, and cucumber duels.
2018, Performance (1 h 30 min), Nine Elms pavilion, London, UK
Commissioned by Nine Elms on the South Bank
Opening: Guarding routine
The Pink Guard and the Green Guard protect the pavilion area, wearing the most feminine perfume on the market.
The Guards follow a regimented movement sequence inspired by the London Queen’s guards routine.
Confrontation: Cucumber Duel
At a given signal the Knaves start the fight
UPOs (Unidentified Performing Objects)
UPO (eggplant purple), 2018, Papier-mâché, aluminium, acrylics, studs, 35x20x35cm each
UPO (melon yellow), 2018, Papier-mâché, aluminium, acrylics, studs, 45x20x16cm each
Closing: Cucumber Duel
None of the present seem to have understood who has won the duel.
Unidentified Performing Objects (Suits of Light)
UPO (bang bang), 2018, Acrylic, gesso and marker on fabric, 118x48cm.
UPO (Bolan), 2018, Acrylic and gesso on custom suit, 70x50cm.
UPO (courage), 2018, Acrylic and gesso on custom suits, 115x48cm.
UPO (fear), 2018, Acrylic and gesso on custom suits, 120x50cm.
The Knaves (versions on paper)
Knave of Radiance (Hunter), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 25×25.5cm.
Knave of Radiance (Shy Joker), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 25×25.2cm.
Knave of Radiance (Do you wanna fight?), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 25x26cm.
Knave of Radiance (GunBoy), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 24x25cm.
Knave of Radiance (Muerte), 2018, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 23.5x24cm.
Opening: Banana Duel (Extended)
2017, Performance (1 h), Guest Projects, London, UK
The two opponents intensely look into each other eyes.
In the meantime, a solitary knave enjoys the taste of his e-cigarette.
The knaves dip their feet in buckets filled with fluorescent paint and stand still for 90 seconds. The duel is about to start.
Confrontation: Banana Duel (Extended)
After several rounds, walking following the perimeter of a square, the Knaves begin the challenge.
When there are no bananas left inside their pockets, they continue to extract more fruits from underneath their shirt.
The duel is extended in time (1 hour) and the confrontation is repeated countless times.
Closing: Banana Duel (extended session)
The duel closes with an unexpected final confrontation: the last banana is pulled out from inside the bucket filled with fresh paint.
Unidentified Performing Objects (Suits of Light)
UPO (sword), 2017, Acrylic, eyeliner, oil, marker, pen, hybrid rubber, stickers on custom suits, 115x48cm.
UPO (KOR 02), 2017, Acrylic, glitter and gesso on custom suit, 70x50cm.
The Knaves (versions on paper)
Knave of Radiance (Ejaculation), 2018, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 25.2x25cm.
Knave of Radiance (Suicide), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 24.5x25cm.
Knave of Radiance (The Shark), 2018, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 25×25.5cm.
Knave of Radiance (Knight), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 24.8x25cm.
Knave of Radiance (Smoking Wolfman), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 24.5x26cm.
Knave of Radiance (Torero fighting a Picasso bull with a smile), 2018, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 23.8x24cm.
Knaves of Radiance (Point of Contact)
2017, Performance (20 mins), Royal College of Art graduate show, London, UK
Repeated four times over one week.
The two contenders repeatedly rub their shoulder one against the other.
A third Knave, wearing football boots with metal studs, signals the different phases of the duel by stomping his feet on the ground and drawing with ping pong balls on the concrete floor.
None of the Knaves were physically injured during the four banana confrontations.
Video documentation (2:30 min).
Unidentified Performing Objects (Suits of Light)
UPO (heart), 2017, Acrylic, eyeliner, oil, marker, pen, hybrid rubber, stickers on custom suits, 118x50cm.
UPO (KOR 01), 2017, Acrylic, glitter and gesso on custom suit, 70x50cm.
The Knaves (versions on paper)
Knave of Radiance (Emoptional Footballer), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 23×24.5cm.
Knave of Radiance (The Male Gaze), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 24x26cm.
Knave of Radiance (Romance), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 23.5x25cm. Private collection.
Knave of Radiance (Score), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 24.7x25cm. Private collection.
Knave of Radiance (Psycho Wizard), 2017, Watercolour, acrylic, stickers, pen and pencil on paper in glass & wood box frame, 24x25cm.
Knaves of Radiance (Singolar Tenzone)
2019, Performance (45 min each), two sessions over two days, Kunstram Bacchanal, Kunstraum, London, UK
Day 1
Singolar tenzone (XV century Italian expression) means planned consensual duel between two men of the same social class, equally armed to defend their honour.
Video Documentation (1:00 min)
The Knaves insult each other using archaic expressions from their mother tongue: Italian and Portuguese. They intimidate the enemy while never getting in physical contact.
Day 2
The duel took place over two days, two sessions of 45 minutes each.
The only items available were a megaphone and a two furry balls whistle for each contender.
Final confrontation
The Knaves extract the whistle from their underwear.
As a final confrontation in extreme proximity, they whistle in the opponent’s face until exhaustion.
Unidentified Performing Objects (Suits of Light)
UPO (red whistle), 2019, Acrylic, eyeliner, marker, gesso and pen on custom suit, 40x50cm.
UPO (green whistle), 2019, Acrylic, eyeliner, marker, gesso and pen on custom suit, 40x50cm.
The Knaves (versions on paper)
Instation view: Collective Ending, Absinthe§2, London, UK
Knave of Radiance (Red Sun), 2019, Watercolour, acrylic, pen and pencil on paper in glass & hand-made mdf frame, 20×68 cm.
Knave of Radiance (Blue Moon), 2019, Watercolour, acrylic, pen and pencil on paper in glass & hand-made mdf frame, 20×68 cm.
Additional Unidentified Performing Objects (Suits of Light)
UPO (BT), 2020-21, Acrylic on suit, 70x50cm.
UPO (BGW), 2023, Acrylic and gesso on custom suit, 70x45cm.
UPO (YR), 2020-23, Acrylic, marker, pen, eye-liner on suit, 70x50cm.
UPO (GR), 2020-23, Acrylic, marker, pen, eye-liner on suit, 70x45cm.
Curated by Rosie Hermon (Nine Elms on the South Bank), Linda Rocco, Isabel Blanco (Guest Projects), Thomas Cuckle and Hannah Conroy (Kunstraum), Collective Ending (Absinthe §2).
with: Tom Ribot, Rafael Escardò Espejo, Joe Mackay, Paul Coombs, Antoine Brutel, Hugo Lami.
Photography: Nine Elms on the South Bank, Federico Guardabrazo, Giulia Brescianini, Masayuki Watanabe, Mark Benedict Cheong, Nat Urazmetova, Collective Ending.