The rollerbabe is a long-established trope in 'alternative' pop culture, but artists Anne-Marie Schleiner and Talice Lee take this figure to another level in their collaborative project, 'Riot Gear for Rollarista,' a joint Mobile Gaming and blog-based performance. Their action will begin in Castellon, Spain on Saturday, October 21, 2006, as part of an exhibition at EACC, Espai d'art Contemporani de Castello, from October-January 2007. The artists' initial performance 'will involve three short Machinima (stories told with video game footage) videos that will be beamed from an ultra-light projector stapped to one of [their] head helmets.' Now linked on YouTube, these videos are comprised of samples from the Playstation games Narc and MechWarrior. The artists relish the fun side of their project, while stating that, 'It sort of evolved into a violent (break) dance musical and each video is dedicated to an African or Muslim immigrant who was seriously abused by police in Spain or France.' Their project takes on political and psychogeographic dimensions as they add, 'We, two American women in padded anime/riot gear/something else inspired moda, will be holding Playstation controllers and rollerskating at the same time, (and sometimes dancing), while we coast around projecting onto surfaces of the city.' Documentation of their meta-entertainment/ hyper-performance activities will be posted in an blog that captures the interventionist spirit of their sexy subtexted acrions. - Irene Wu
