Over the weekend Dance Umbrella‘s celebration of American choreographer, Trisha Brown, took place at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London’s Southbank Centre. Floor of the Forest was first choreographed by Brown in 1970. Using a lattice work of ropes with clothes threaded through and attached to poles about 5 foot off the ground, dancers from Candoco and Laban slowly dressed and undressed themselves moving across the webbed structure like huge spiders stalking their prey.
Next month I will take part in the Open Studios at 2nd Floor Studios. Over 100 visual and fine artists, craft and design makers will open their studios to the public.
Open Studios
Opening night – Thursday 18th November 5pm -9pm
Saturday 20th November 11am – 6pm
Sunday 21st November 11am -6pm
2nd Floor Studios, Melish Indust Estate, Warspite Road, London, SE18 5NR
My studio is number 17, Unit 0 (the building overlooking the river). I will show life size wire sculpture, framed and unframed charcoal drawings, sketch books (seen in my blog), etchings and oil & acrylic paintings on canvas. Prices range from £25 -£2500. See my website to view more of my work
A triple bill of new works by Candoco Dance Company opened last night for two nights at The Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London. Renditions consists of The Hangman by Sarah Michelson, In Translation by Emanuel Gat and Imperfect Storm by Wendy Houston. I was invited by Co-Artistic Directors Pedro Machado and Stine Nilsen to the dress rehearsal to draw The Hangman.
Betinna Carpi and Chris Owen
Dancers, Darren Anderson, Elinor Baker and Dan Shaw are also in The Hangman. See my blog of September 5th to see Candoco in the Liberty Festival. Welly O’Brian and Kate Marsh of Candoco will be performing with Laban students in the installation Floor of The Forest in the QEH foyer on October 15th, 16th and 17th to coincide with Trisha Brown Dance Company’s Repertory Evening. My drawings will be posted for that event.
To see further work inspired by Candoco see painting and sculpture on my website, from past rehearsals I have drawn at.
Last night I was at Tate Modern for the opening of Ai Weiwei‘s Turbine Hall installation. The vast space is covered with what appears from a distance to be little grey stones, the sound as people walk sounds like the comforting crunch of a shingle beach, looking closer you see not little pebbles but a deep carpet of sunflower seeds, scoop up a handful and you discover they are replicas of sunflower seeds in fact made of porcelain, each is handmade and hand painted, they amount to 100 million.
The successful installations at Tate Modern for me are the ones that draw the visitors in to their magic, immerse you and take you somewhere else in your head (Olafur Eliasson’s The Weather Project) connecting you not only with the strangers around you through the experience but with the cries of strangers in a far off country (Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth). This installation achieves both of these. The seeds are beautiful to look at, to walk on and to listen to as you and others walk on them. More than that, mount the stairs and look down on the hall, patterns are created of people gently ambling over the porcelain seeds, the visitors become unwitting performers, this is one of the drawings I made last night.
Ai Weiwei wants the public to correspond with him to give feed back and ask questions through twitter and computer terminals are set up in front of the installation to enable you to do so. Ai Weiwei was at the opening last night, quietly charismatic with a strong presence, he spoke to everyone that approached him, he is in this drawing, facing us in the huddle on the left, surrounded.
I Drink the Air Before Me by the Stephen Petronio Company was the first dance in the month of Dance Umbrella 2010. The title, inspired by the words of Ariel in reply to Prospero in The Tempest, hints at the ferocious speed, verging on mania that the dance creates. As the audience take their seats the dancers dressed in coats and long johns are on stage with a ballet bar warming up. Petronio wandering around the theatre muttering, dressed as an old salty sea dog: sou’wester, fake beard, wig and big boots (designed by Cindy Sherman). On stage too were a small orchestra and at a grand piano, Petronio’s collaborator in this production, composer Nico Muhly. Ropes are strung across the front of the stage to the circle (relieved I’m sitting stage right so not in my eye line).
As the music begins and the dancers move the audience are transported to the sea: dangerous, deep, wind lashing, out of control, man-over-board sea.
A children’s choir sing at the beginning and at the end.
A collaboration between London Art, HDR Architects and Art-Atelier has resulted in my sculpture Guardian Angel to be exhibited in the window of HDR’s exhibition space in Monck Street SW1. The exhibition, titled A Fusion of Art and Science displays the work of eight artists with a shared interest in the connections of science and art, including sculpture, painting and drawing.
Lapped Translated Lines is the latest dance choreographed by Rosemary Butcher. The stage is dominated by a large twisted linear structure, designed by Melissa Appleton and Matthew Butcher, reminding me of a Richard Deacon sculpture. Solo performer, Elena Giannotti, moves across the diminished stage in linear patterns to a soundtrack that opens to the sound of waves rushing in and out over a shingle beach, like breath.
As a viewer I became immersed in the movement played out in front of me in the small intimate space of the Lilian Baylis Studio. Following linear patterns across the floor, Elena Giannotti’s physical strength come across in a very gentle human way. Her movement felt at times heartbreaking, as she walked on her hands and feet, reminiscent of Muybridge’s ‘Paralytic Child walking on all fours’ or the Francis Bacon painting inspired by this. As I watched it was if an evolution of movement was unfolding in front of me, from hands and feet to shuffling, walking, standing, turning, rolling.
A screen is above the performer, filmed previously by Daria Martin showing Giannotti in constant movement, often focussing on her hands and feet, so she becomes dwarfed by the film of herself and the twisted steel sculpture above her. Below she echoes the movement in the film but only rarely is it the same.
Yorke Dance Project‘s Americana is “four different slices of the American Dream”. I drew Post Etiquette, choreographed by Artistic Director Yolande Yorke-Edgell, set to Alessando Marcello’s concerto in D minor. The dance is inspired by the writings of American author, Emily Post. A dance of high energy, speed and lyricism.
Americana rehearsal
Yorke Dance Project was set up by Yolande Yorke-Edgell after dancing with the Lewitzky Dance Company in Los Angeles for four years. Americana premiers at Merlin Theatre, Frome on 2nd October, with a London premiere on 18th and 19th October at Bloomsbury Theatre.
On Monday I was at Farnham Maltings to draw Stopgap Dance Company during one of the final rehearsals before the Autumn tour begins, opening on Thursday 23rd September at Weymouth College Theatre and in London on 20th November at Robin Howard Dance Theatre. StopGap are an integrated dance company working with dancers with physical or learning disabilities as well as non-disabled dancers. They will perform a double bill, Trespass, choreographed by Thomas Noone and Rob Tannion, the company rehearsed Splinter by Rob Tannion while I was with them.
Laura Jones and Sophie Brown rehearse Splinter
In 2003, I drew the choreographer of Splinter, Rob Tannion with Liam Steel, both former dancers with DV8, during their rehearsals and devising of Sinner the physical theatre debut of Stan Wont Dance. Rob is not only a very gifted choreographer but a beautiful and skilled performer.
On Saturday The Liberty Festival took place in Trafalgar Square. This festival is an annual celebration of the contribution of deaf and disabled people to London’s culture. Candoco Dance Company in collaboration with Scarabeus aerial dance theatre performed Heartland, inspired by the legend of the Minotaur. The performers, Welly O’Brien and Bea Perini performed using an Aerial Hoop, Silks and a Corde Lisse.
I have drawn Candoco during rehearsals over the last six years, I have been invited to join the rehearsals in October this year as they prepare for the show at Queen Elizabeth Hall and I will join them again in early 2011 to draw during rehearsals of the new work.
My great friend, Rachel Gadsden, was capturing, on canvas, basketball training.
