“across the flat pane of a page we can write out what a hero is. as the ink beads and the reams of paper mount, as we apply the binding and our names across the cover, we enter the third dimension. we read the words and play them out in space, sing them into a microphone as the pages they spring from yellow and crumble in the oxygen that feeds the thoughts from which they sprung, the thoughts that wither and fail countless times, remembered and forgotten and re-imagined over and over again from different angles, uncoiling gently in the fourth dimension….”

Created by the Restaged Histories project and guest collaborators, YOUTHvsPHYSICS is a series of science experiments that attempt to disprove heroism. Three performers, live video and 1970’s bluescreen are used along with three test subjects: the mythical Icarus, pop-cultural icon Superman and a soviet cosmonaut named Omon. Taken as a whole, these test subjects form a triptych of young men whose attempts to fly have all been thwarted by science or age.

YOUThvsPHYSICS examines each character’s anachronistic position in a contemporary world uneasy with the term ‘hero’, becoming part-physics class, part-stunt show and part-rock concert.

the Restaged Histories project are artists-in-residence at Brisbane Powerhouse, and have recently been described as “fabulous liars in a mundane world” (Real Time #91), which they take as a compliment.