Bobby Baker performance

6 hours

Central London

Staged during Mental Health Action Week and sponsored by the Mental Health Foundation, this work was created by Baker as a ‘small act’ to mark the millennium. Baker, sitting strapped into a car seat bolted onto the back of a flatbed truck, was driven around the streets of London for 8 hours yelling through a megaphone ‘PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER’ to passers-by. Banners repeating the message adorned the sides of the truck. Driving through central London there was a noticeable shift in the response of many people who, after initially finding the act amusing or threatening, read the banner on the back of the vehicle which stated it was IN AID OF MENTAL HEALTH ACTION WEEK.

Commissioned as part of the performance series ‘Small Acts for the Millennium’ conceived by Tim Etchells and curated by a consortium of Tim Etchells and Verity Leigh of forced entertainment, Lois Keidan, Adrian Heathfield and Hugo Glendinning.

Sponsored by the Mental Health Foundation