Ria and I have been working in the studio with specific themes selected from my initial notes and research into curiosity and interest in the ocean. its vast open seascape and incredible depth, with a serene sense of peace flowing through it and yet somehow a knowing of the tremendous power and strength it has as a force in nature.
we decided to look into specific details with the idea and bring the enormity of the scale it can lead you to imagine, back to the basics in the element of water. Themes that we are discussing in our process are volume/scale/mass, reflection, depth, translucency, flow/time, space, perspective, and sculpture, as on-going research. In this sharing of work we focused on reflections, depth and space.
we are looking at our connections with our bodies, in sensation, in space, and in relationship to each other both in space and in time, through working in improvisation to feel and find our thoughts through these places.
i am interested in the idea of perspective, perspectives in space as the doer in an action, perspectives in a frame as an observer of depth in a picture or situation, and perspectives in the body as layers of substance and matter that form ourselves. This led me to play with the notion of combining my thoughts in these areas in an improvisation to process material and form in an experiment to see what will happen.
in an improvisation with Ria we firstly worked though the layers in the body, starting with the outside surface, skin and sensory awareness in our levels of touch and coming into contact with other surfaces and each other. The muscles and our awareness of when we use certain muscles for movements and when we are not using these muscles. Looking at the bones, and imaging the skeletal system and structure of our bones inside our bodies, observing different ways in which we can find strength and awareness in the bones. And the organs, identifying individual organs is fascinating, their size, shape, location, function, all bring knowledge and understanding to how our bodies work everyday.
exploring all of the levels moving together also as a way to bring focus back in to sensing both the space inside our bodies and the space outside. Seeing each other in the room and responding to the surroundings we're moving in.
imaging the room as a canvas and our movements tracing paths as if the ink of a pen is marking the paper. This was fascinating as we started to feel and sense the air and space in both a 3 dimensional and 2 dimensional perspective. Floor patterns, air patterns, connecting patterns between relationship of people and space.
with these experiences we started exploring visual images in photography in relation to our research with finding space inside and outside of the body.
we improvised with five photographs, one by one, in five improvisations as duet. Then combining the images with one another, each choosing one photograph each, for contrast and difference between us, at the same time responding to and with each others movements.
photography Ellie Keeble
i chose these images from my personal interest in their form, frame and content and a knowing that they are a tool for creating movement. I have been working with these five photographs in a workshop with Rosemary previously and their interest for me still held strong, so I liked to see how they may effect this research.
Ria and I chose three photographs that we felt worked well in relation to the improvisations we're working on.
we chose the three photographs from the second line down and decided their connection in time to each other, moving from left to right through the duration of the improvisation.
at what point in the improvisation you arrive at the following photograph is your choice and we enjoyed the freedom with time moving through the photographs at our own pace.
in rehearsals every improvisation was different and we valued as much feedback from viewers in the room as possible. Responses and observations in our work gave us an awareness in the progression of the material and structure that the improvisations were taking, visually and sensationally.
collaborating with music added a new layer to our work, introducing new elements in the sound. Live musicians responding to the dance was great timing for our material to move in new ways with the structure we created. Live violin and percussion players, with electronics, composed by Timo Tukanen, held improvisation in the music score as a place for the musicians to see and respond to the dancers material. This left space for the dance to breath with its own rhythm, natural pace and flow of material in improvisation.
i enjoyed performing this piece with Ria in new environment and surroundings, and was aware of our settling in the space before performing, as if there was a moment of ok now we are here.
Bodies of Water was performed at the Amadeus Centre in London on 1st March 2009.
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