Out of Orbit

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I recently became a member of Space Place Practice. New members are asked to make a piece of work which typifies their practice inside a museum box. The boxes from all the members of the group will be exhibited at the Museum in the Park in Stroud 10th - 12th of May.

In 2011 I made a series of three site specific filmed works which attempted to represent locations to their inhabitants from a positive perspective. In doing so, the intention is to inspire the viewer to see ‘their place’ afresh. This is part of an ongoing exploration of the way people create and connect with places.

The films explored differing topographies within particular locations in Wales, UK - Newport, Carmarthen and Llandaff in Cardiff.

The works were made with professional dancers who created physical language for the ground geography of the sites. The dancers were taken on a route of the site directed by me. Each time the dancers encountered a ground texture, they created a foot gesture/ dance motif that reflected the texture. Each time that ground texture repeated on the route,  the dancers repeated the dance motif. In this way, a series of gestures/ dance motifs was built forming a gestural/ physical language to illustrate that site

The films were then shown near to where they had been made. This was an attempt to encourage viewers to reappraise their place.


ORBITING THE CENTRE OF NEWPORT
'Orbiting the Centre of Newport’ was made in September 2011 in Newport, Wales with Ballet Cymru dancers Helena Casado Cortes and Cormac Murphy and music by Y Niwl.

I am native of Newport and returned to live in the area in 2005, becoming resident of the city in 2007. In recent years there have been attempts at economic regeneration of the city. These initiatives stalled during the UK economic down turn. In 2013 the regeneration work began again in earnest. A significant part of the centre of Newport is about to be demolished and replaced with new buildings and new spaces.

Many of the locations in which I made ‘Orbiting The Centre of Newport’ already have, or are about to disappear. I made the piece in such a way that local residents could (and did ) recognise specific sites in the film when it was shown. As these sites are about to disappear, my film is about to become a memorial piece, suitable for a museum box. If the piece was shown in Newport again, it would have to be remade within  the new locations.

The film will now inhabit my Space Place Practice box.