Karaoke
I have a long-standing obsession with karaoke. It's participatory, fun, and offers endless possibilities for creative expression. Here are two examples of karaoke projects I've developed over the years.
Red Sock
"Red Sock" is an interactive karaoke performance that humorously tells a love story through two matching red sock puppets. Developed as part of Toronto's Concrete Cabaret for the OBJECTO Festival in October 2023, the show was created using an exquisite cabaret process. In the live performance, I portray a life-size sock puppet who sings and invites the audience to join in. The performance is set to a playful remix of Paula Abdul's "Rush, Rush" and Michael Bolton's "I Said I Loved You But I Lied."
OBJECTO Festival, Tranzac Club, Toronto, October 2023
Café Concret, Espace Transmission, Montréal QC, July 2024
Isabel Jukes’ Karaoke Extravaganza Stage
This was my first gallery show as a first-year graduate student in the Studio Art MFA program at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design. At the time, I was developing a character named “Isabel Jukes”—an awkward, creative persona I turned to when I felt stuck with art-making. Isabel helped me break free from self-consciousness and allowed me to embrace experimentation.
For this show, I hosted my first-ever gallery karaoke extravaganza, with Isabel leading the way. The interactive stage invited viewers to participate, complete with a series of instructions: wear a pair of homemade papier-mâché glasses, choose a song from a selection of CDs, and sing using a microphone while following prompts on the karaoke screen. The video below captures Isabel’s introduction to the stage on opening night.
Warren Robbins Gallery, Stamps School of Art & Design, Ann Arbor MI 2010
