Conversational thoughts on Traces of Being Action i

The following is an excerpt from a recent conversation on the thought process behind my recent Action at Act Art 8 : "It was very much a piece about stripping away layers and establishing a sense of presence in the moment and what causes theses moments almost imperceptible flux in the consistency of an image of what could be perceived as a singular self.   Where as in fact I think there are multiple layers at work and essentially in this work-in-progress I did very little 'performance' in order to expose them or 'turn the page' if you will as I think the body is in a constant state of flux - I now feel even more confident in this after looking at the work in the images taken by Rachel and feel ready to bring back a sense of the Butoh play within the work in order to explore this further but I didn't want to force it upon it if that makes sense.  My main area that I am interested in working around within my current research focuses upon Questioning and examining the conception of the body, Being and the existence of a ‘multiplicit-Self’ in the crossover of body art & Butoh.  The three actions of 'traces of being' are at the heart of this exploration for me personally."  Next up is a way of exploring the unseen ephemeral trace - something I began to look at as part of my research at the Ron Athey Winter School.  

Traces of Being - Identity captured by Rachel Ferriman

The absolutely amazing Rachel Ferriman was my photographer for the Traces of Being work I exhibited last week at Act Art 8.  Here are just a few of the initial images that have come through.  Click on any picture in the slideshow in order to enlarge.  These are not the final images so grab your chance to view them now before its too late.  

Please check back in a couple of weeks when I hope to have a more finalised set of images to share.  

Act Art 8 - postmortem

Stripping away multiples of Self; identity was exposed, altered, censored, and destroyed.  

What was left?

a beginning ... an end...

12

I am so alone.
You were my life,
and without you my
Life is over.

Notes on action i

This will be the least formed and roughest work I have shown to date.  It will also be the first piece I have shown that does not have some form of Butoh in it.  That is not to say that subsequent actions in the series of three won't nor that this action will cease to develop or change but what you will see will be a huge key change for me from my work of the past 5 years.

Traces of Being: Action I - Identity

Establishing the body in space.... Establishing existence of Being... Establishing change... 

multiples of self are seen as layers are exposed, projected, removed, concealed, censored and torn away

a simplistic yet very personal piece - exposing the artists' struggle with his own existence, identity and depression

Action I - Identity will be shown under the Traces of Being banner title at Act Art 8: Censored on July 9th @10:30pm

Act Art runs from 8pm to 4am and tickets can be bought via this LINK


this performance is shown as a work in progress

11

Passion creates and passion destroys.

ACTION I: Identity

M. Heidgger said, "The artist is the origin of the work. The work is the origin of the artist. Neither is without the other... As necessarily as the artist is the origin of the work in a different way, than the work is the origin of the artist, so it is equally certain that, in a still different way, art is the origin of both artist and work. But can art be an origin at all? Where and how does art occur? ...Do works and art exist only because art exists as their origin?"  This is central  to exploration of  the Traces of Being series, in which Identity will be the first action to be shown as part of Act Art 8.  

I am creating a series of actions that seek to progressively enquire towards the proof of presence or Being and how it may either falter or be found in a state of flux when examined & challenged.  

This initial action focuses upon the identity of a multiplicit-Self.  An oxymoron in of itself if read on a binary level but rather challenges the conceptual realising of a singular and looks at the evolution of the many through the course of the action.  This then runs in tandem with the evolution of the work which when presented as a whole alongside subsequent actions will test the existence of Being: potentially proving presence of the Body as both artist and artefact in the moment of action.  

This first action inparticular works also to act as commentary on the censoring of identity and the artists' own personal struggle with the projection of image and the challenge of his own being while dealing with depression.

This performance will be shown during the Act Art 8 event @ 10:30pm  in the Islington Metal Works (stage 1 floor level - back room ground floor).  Click HERE for tickets.  

Kazuo Ohno passes away

Kazuo Ohno died of respiratory failure June 1, 2010, at 4:38 pm (JST), in Japan at the Yokohama Sen-in Hoken Hospital in Yokohama City, at the age of 103.  

Thank you for everything you have given me and given the world.  I will continue to look beyond the visible.  I will attempt to embrace the universe.  

"I'm looking up at the sky.  Well, then, at what am I looking?  Am I facing the sky?  No, I'm not; I'm not looking at anything at all.  I'm now facing the ground.  When I'm looking down in that direction, am I looking at the ground below me?  No, I'm not looking at anything at all.  What's going on?  It seems that my inner life has been completely demolished.  

Well in that case, am I out of my mind?  No, I'm no madman.  Is madness creeping up on me then?  Though by no means out my mind, I still want to plunge into an irrational world whenever I gaze around me.  Whenever I look upward, face downward, or stare right in front of me I want to be able to plunge into an irrational world.  

While it's not inconceivable that human intelligence is an out-growth of madness, madness could never spring forth from the intellect.  If at all possible, I would like you to explore what lies at the root of madness.  In gazing up at the sky, look beyond the visible.  We should feel that your eyes are embracing the entire universe."

- Kazuo Ohno 

Tickets now on sale

ACT ART 8 - CENSORED

Traces of Being: Action I - Identity will premiere at Act Art 8.  

Friday 9th July 8pm to 4am

Click here for tickets

100 ARTISTS. 1 VENUE. 1 NIGHT

PERFORMANCE, LIVE ART, PA'S, INSTALLATION, FILM, VIDEO, 2D WORKS + DJ'S

9 ROOMS. 10 LIVE SPACES WITH SHOWS ALL NIGHT FROM 8pm. SEATED CINEMA. PUB BAR PRICES. FOOD. SMOKING GARDEN

@ THE ISLINGTON METAL WORKS, 7 TORRENS STREET, ANGEL, ISLINGTON, LONDON, EC1V 1NQ (directly behind Angel tube)

ACT ART 8 asks is CENSORSHIP really appropriate?

Do individuals have the right to say whatever they wish even if this offends someone else?

Does CENSORSHIP have the effect of making art more appealing, more glamorous, and more exciting?

Is it controlling and arrogant to suggest the public needs protecting?

Have you had your own work CENSORED, or in fact self CENSORED in order to get your work programmed?

Is CENSORSHIP about what’s morally wrong or obscene, or is it subjective?

CENSORSHIP surrounds us, be it freedom of speech, censorship of art and culture, freedom of expression or removal of media that’s deemed to be harmful, insensitive, objectionable, embarrassing or inconvenient to those in power. Thankfully it’s extremely hard (if not impossible) for those in authority to control our personal choices and forms of expression because in order for us to be controlled we must all think the same way, which of course is never really going to happen.

This event is strictly 18+

More information can be found at Act Art and Facebook

Further details about Traces of Being will be posted in the coming days.  

Coming Soon

'Action I: Identity' will be shown in the Summer.  More details to follow.

Earth Day

This video replaces the Green party video originally placed on this site.  I have done this as I have learnt that I cannot vote for them in my local elections as they are not standing.  It is not that I no longer support them but I feel at the end of the day the only people you can trust to make a change is yourself - the public. Instead I place here a video made by Greenpeace - they equally do some good but at the same time are a little corporate, as most charities are these days - but the message is a good one...

10

Salt from my eyes burns my skin.

NRLA Winter School update

The winter school with Ron Athey was an amazing experience. It was hard work but allowed me to break down a preconceived concept and focus in on its development. I chose a specific area of enquiry relating to the conception of Being in regard to its physical state or presence rather than attempting an over-arching view of Being in its many forms and workshopped a conceptual idea at the end of the week that attempted to enquire into the essence of movement that exists unseen externally while body is in a perceived 'static' state. Participants were invited to listen to the body before attempting to interact with it in any way that they felt may affect flow of internal actions/systems such as vascular, lymphatic, breath, digestive, reproductive or cranial sacral flow for example before listening again to the changes that may have taken place.

Though this certainly was not a finished work it has helped me in my exploration of Being by stripping the body back to a core experience as I looked to explore movement without action in the first instance via testing the presence of the organic body through ephemeral actions.

____

Central to my work is an exploration of what I perceive as the multiplicit Self and the existence of Being.

I hope to create a series of actions that seek to progressively enquire towards the proof of presence or Being and how it may either falter or be found in a state of flux when examined & challenged.

I intend to call this series of actions, Traces of Being.