About the project
I am working on a new project titled “Resting Heads”. I have yet to decide which form this project will take. I am thinking about developing a performative installation, which is a performance that happens in between and in response to an installation of my artworks. I am also considering to edit a short film or digital collages.
Background
The making of the performative installation “Resting Heads” is inspired by my wider research on forms of resting. I am interested in rest in two ways: firstly, I consider rest a practice of listening to what our bodies need. Secondly, rest is a reality that people living with chronic pain, stress and health issues often face – if they desire to or not.
Concept
I am developing the project “Resting Heads” within this frame. I started with a movement research about what is means to rest for me personally, and I was surprised to observe how much resting is about letting go of the weight of the head. I realised, that, in every day life, lying down or leaning our head is a common sign of somebody being tired or relaxing. This comes from the fact that for human beings, heads are a very heavy body part. In addition, sitting in front of screens for work, being stressed or feeling anxious can lead to a lot of tension in the neck muscles. If these muscles get tired, they cannot balance and hold up the head so well anymore.
At the moment, I am taking these observation into a movement research together with dancers, in which we look for ways of resting our heads on each other as well as the architecture of a space – like the walls, floor and furniture. I will subtract postures and movements out of this research to develop a choreography.
This choreography could be performed, filmed or photographed. I am testing these options, as you can see in the video and images below.
Video showing two layers. In the background layer which is blurry and bright, there are two dancers moving in close contact with each other. They sometimes pause in a position of leaning against each other with they heads, hands or other body parts. In the foreground, there are animated colourful shapes that move across the screen in various rhythms.
The collage shows rough digitally cut outs of a human figure taking various resting positions. The cut ours are aligned with each other in such a way that they form clusters. In the background there is the blown up image of a cloth with drawn shapes on it.
The collage shows rough digitally cut outs of a human figure taking various resting positions. The cut ours are aligned with each other in such a way that they form a curve.
Upcoming presentations
The project “Resting Heads” will be presented at an exhibition at ASC Croydon on the 3rd of June. For further information to be published soon, click here to get to my own website (opens in a new tab).
Another version will be shown at Fluc in Vienna on the 20th of June, curated by Francesca Audretsch. For further to be pushlied too, click here to get to the website of Fluc (opens in a new tab).
List of inspirations
I am inspired by artist Raquel Meseguer’s practice of horizontal conversations and resting in public space. To read more about her practice, click here (opens in a new tab).
The book “Bodystories” by Andrea Olsen and Caryn McHose offers exercises to relax, explore and experience the head.
(Citation of the book: Olsen, Andrea.; McHose, Caryn.: Bodystories: a guide to experiential anatomy, Barrytown, N.Y. : Station Hill Press, 1991)
