ITSOFOMO (In the Shadow of Forward Motion)

ITSOFOMO (In the Shadow of Forward Motion) is a multimedia performance that David Wojnarowicz made in collaboration with composer and musician Ben Neill in 1989. Integrating music, text, and video in a multi-dimensional format, the work embodies the act of acceleration and its sensory manifestations. It is through this frame that Wojnarowicz addressed the accelerating AIDS crisis and the politics of AIDS in the United States at that moment.

The work debuted at The Kitchen in 1989 and has not been performed live in New York in 25 years. For this presentation, Ben Neill and the percussionist Don Yallech, who played alongside Neill and Wojnarowicz in 1989, revisit this fierce meditation on history and power.

Ben Neill is a composer, performer, and producer whose music blends influences from electronica, jazz, and contemporary classical music. His practice is focused on redefining acoustic instrumental performance.

Don Yallech is a musician, teacher, and musical director in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas. He is a percussionist for the Western Reserve Opera, the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.