Circuit Cast

"Sometimes even a cup of tea can fail" In a hyper-connected world, Samantha Cheng's durational performances examine failure as a generative space. In the final episode of Comic Release Joe Jowitt talks to Samantha about time, labour and the body. 00:00: Introduction to Samantha's practice by Joe Jowitt 1.50: Joe - "There seems to be a real tension between comedy and exhaustion in your practice. Could you start by describing what draws you to humour as a material or method?" Samantha describes her masters research on failure. 3.30: Humour as a personal practice. Samantha asks Joe "What do you find funny? Where does your humour come from?" 5.00: On making the video Happy Ever After (2021). The classic film trope of a happy ending. The repetitive gesture in Happy Ever After. 7.10: Joe compares the work to classic cinema devices "the fall, the loop, the failed gag". He compares the work to Bas Jan Ader and the slapstick tradition of Buster Keaton 8:13: The 'failure of narrative' in the work. Samantha