Francesca Gabbiani: Gossip

On January 12, 2025, L.A.-based artist Francesca Gabbiani will premier Gossip, an ambitious, multi-media performance that investigates feminist symbology through dance, live percussion, electronic music, poetry, animation, and shadow puppetry. 

In the early Medieval era, the term gossip--derived from the Old English word godsib, denoting a godparent or dear friend--commonly referred to a group of female friends or a woman's special friendship; a woman’s gossip may have included midwives, female relatives, and close companions. By the 1500s, with the rise of the European witch hunts and the persecution of “rebellious” women, gossip became vilified as harmful, idle talk, a historically patriarchal view that persists today. Through her work, Gabbiani challenges this notion while recentering the creative and intellectual power of women gathering, exchanging knowledge, and sharing bonds. 

For Gossip, Gabbiani presents a sensorial landscape related to the notion of gossip. Symbols of plant medicine, domesticity, reproduction, and the aging female body are explored through rich visual depictions and layered soundscapes. The score, composed and directed by Eddie Ruscha (assisted by Milo and Tristan Ruscha) incorporates live drumming, percussive sweeping, and whispered incantations. 

This event will take place in the space next door to The Brick, at 520 N. Western Ave. The performance will occur in two cycles, at 5:30pm and 6:30pm. Each cycle is preceded by 30 minutes of ambient sound as guests arrive and settle in. Viewers are invited to come for one cycle or stay for both. The performance will take place in the round and viewers are invited to move freely throughout the duration. Standing room only. 

This performance was made possible through the generous support of The Hillenburg Family Foundation. It was commissioned as part of the exhibition Life on Earth: Art & Ecofeminism. 

Image courtesy of the artist, produced by Ross Harris, featuring Eloise Deluca; Copyright © Francesca Gabbiani 2024