Stand-in as a performative repertoire of action

Abstract

Numerous rallies, gatherings and occupations in public squares of big cities have been emerging since 2010 all around the world as a new guideline to new social movements. These recent movements embrace a transformation in public spaces through interaction, shared experience and art so that a collective energy is generated within a given context and time. They therefore propose an alternative acting and living together in the light of the equality of all individuals involved. The recreation of this new active citizenship, both individually and collectively, is also highly connected with the appropriation of a performative repertoire of action within everyday life. This paper focuses on the active, yet unorganized participation of Turkish citizens to the protestation and/or performance of the Standing Man all over Turkey. Standing still and silent offers thus a performative action, which has become collective through social networks. This unpredicted act has been a pioneer in terms of the transformation of a singular creative intervention to a collective performative action.