Flow in confinement

After hearing a radio4 programme on a prisoner who was spending 23h out of 24 in his cell, and spending many of these hours doing yoga, taichi, meditating etc.. I started to explore the idea of moving in a very small space. I was moving from one side to the other, releasing gradually one set of muscles by transfering the tension to another part of my body, exploring the full extent of the movements that the small confined space allowed. The film we made reflects the essence of someone who is entrapped in something, emprisoned yet flowing. I made my breath audible, and it expressed the tension in my movements. I then edited in the sound of my heartbeat, to better translate the tension and exhersion.

Blooming

A project on women's experiences of pregnancy. Created a range of"bellies": one made of hundreds of butterflies, to represent the first few times we feel our baby move, one made of "sick" (many women experience intense and long lasting nausea and sickness in pregnancy), one made out of cigarette buts and beer bottle tops ( many women carry on smoking and drinking in pregnancy, with dire consequences for their babies's health) , one belly representing domestic violence ( a fur heart shape surrounded by nails with the tip pointing forward- most domestic violence starts in pregnancy or shortly after the baby is born) , one belly highlighting miscarriage, etc... The belly on the right provided a surface for women to write on about how they felt while pregnant.

BLEU Blanc Rouge

First part of my triptych on exploring my body's reactions to extreme temperatures. This was taken in the garden after the first snow fall in December 2010. I covered my body in blue paint, and made imprints in the snow. Back, side, and front. Not quite Yves Kein, and without the live quartet.

Bleu BLANC Rouge

It was so cold, and I was so tired. One of the picture in the series. We also made a film.

Bleu BLANC Rouge

On the 3rd of January 2011, after spending 3 nights helping a woman in labour birth her baby, I covered my body in white paint, and went to the sea. It was snowing that day in Brighton, and the sea was so cold. I wanted to explore how my body would react to the extreme cold while I was in a state of extreme tiredness from 2 nights without sleep. I found that the noises I was making and the expressions on my face, mirrored the ones I have heard and seen on the woman I had supported in labour. The serie of pictures taken on that morning where part of my exhibition at Northbrook.