The Drumhead, Gerry Bibby’s first fiction work, was commissioned by If I Can’t Dance for Edition V – Appropriation and Dedication (2013–2014), and follows a two-year collaboration with KUB Arena of the Kunsthaus Bregenz, The Showroom London, CCA Glasgow, and the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane. The book distills these institutional encounters into a multipart narrative that delves into the lives and psyches of those in the service industry. We meet Gina, a performance artist facing the truths about her audience, and Guy, a police agent infiltrating political subculture. Exhaustion and frustration besiege a set of characters and the architecture that barely contains them.