back in the swing of it...

Ok so it has been a while... hmmm well perhaps a little more than a while, but after a few months of blogging absence I'm back and determined to finish, if only for self satisfaction and most probably not artistic brilliance.

So although I haven't been posting, I've been keeping the performing/filming going mostly everyday, but now I have arrived at a backlog of editing that I need a week to sift through. But here is the past 20 days captured in my transitions from a few places, Bathurst, Cowra, Canberra, Sydney and Canberra again. With these performances I tried to capture a moment in the day when it seemed unlikely, random, unspecific even, perhaps a little mundane, but never the less an insight into my life, my pathways, my movements. I notice I go through patterns of close ups with details of body etc. mixed in with wide physical moving shots. Movement patterns also seem obvious to me, but maybe not so for the viewer. A particular highlight was in an exhibition room at the MCA in Sydney, rolling around with pillow and looking up at the artwork on the ceiling, I think other visitors thought I was part of the art, and well I guess I was maybe, for just that snippet of time...

Currently I'm working in Canberra with Adelina Larsson and an amazing group of improvisation performers, a sound artist, video artist and set designer, on a project called 'No Place' which is exploring 'hypnogogia' the state of transition from wakefulness to sleep or sleep to wakefulness. It has been a brain fry for me in a lot of ways, as we try to access the subconscious mind and body whilst actually being aware and active simultaneously in the physical reality. I am enjoying the challenge of exploring the tension between these, and makes me consider how I might channel my subconscious, which seems for me to have more connection to the imagined, into the improvised scores that I do for filming. How can I channel these tools and experiences of accessing the subconscious into my everyday act of performing in a specific space? Can I choose a space and a state or a score and experience the performance as something apart from or additional to, the physical reality.

Woahh... anyway, this is what I am going to attempt.

go forth and imagine... :)

give me a sign..

Wow what an interesting couple of weeks it has been, following the signs... seems very deep, but actually its not that profound and just a bit of an experiment.

 

 

As I mentioned briefly last post, I decided to apply a theme or restriction to performing and filming, just to mix it up and make it a little more interesting. So for this upload I decided that I must dance in a space which features a sign/symbol.

 

 

Having this constant of including a particular component to the performance was at first a little dull, struggling to find interesting sites or spaces that incorporate signs to which I could directly relate and integrate into my physicality. Starting with basic road signs (boring!!!) I was then able to diversify a little to include sites that are unique to the place where I am, Mt. Panorama for example, which was too much fun, starting in poll position. :) Also enjoyed using my daily activities to continue to influence the filming, I found myself drawn to notice the signs around me and reflecting on how they might influence me in performance. It's funny how much you don't notice until you actually pay attention. The 'for sale' sign was also a highlight, finding my voice with this one which actually was quite surprising, though the postie thought I was on crack it think, holding an auction to a cluster of wheelie bins!!

 

 

I would love to actively try to be a bit more brave with including sites that are quite busy, and have the potential for more interaction with the space, but also people moving through or utilising that space. I must admit I was a little off-put with the filming of 'Detour ahead' sign in down town Bathurst as I was yelled at quite aggressively by a group of teens hanging out the window of their car. In general people are quite indifferent though and often times just ignore or try and go about their business. A happy medium between ignorance and abuse would be ideal... but that goes with the nature of it, the unpredictability of the situation.

So here is Day 103 to 121, the sign- post.

 

Up next... I'm attempting to film at the exact same time every day wherever I am, whatever I'm doing. Strangely excited about this challenge, as I must be strict and honest with myself, even if I find I'm in the most uninspiring space, how can I make it something worth doing and worth watching???

More on this soon...

experiencing some technical difficulties...

I realise this post has been a long time coming and I take comfort in the fact that I have finally done it, because well I had to overcome a few little barriers to finally get to the stage where I could upload this next video.

Firstly since my last post I have started using a new laptop, meaning that I have had to transfer all my video clips and editing software to an external hard drive then to a new computer system. Ok this is fair enough, but then the silly software chucks a wobbly and decides that it doesn't like this new home (windows 7 operating system) which means I can't edit and save and upload the new footage. Gahhhhh!!!!

So I try multiple suggestions from online forums to fix this problem. After some stress attacks, freaking out that I'd done all this work and now I'm not going to be able to continue it, what a waste, woe is me type scenario etc, etc...BUT thanks to dear old Dad I finally solved the issue, (which i still don't really know what is was, but if it works who cares!!).  

But secondly I have moved to a new town (or old town in my case) and been intently busy with a new project. This has been joyous, but very consuming. Having the filming everyday has been strangely relaxing and calming, redirecting my creative side, stopping me from getting to 'heady' with anxious thoughts about the project ahead.

So this video documents Day 79 to Day 102, a few last days of holiday/family time travelling, as well as settling in and exploring new (but old) town/home. I particularly enjoyed filming at my Uncles farm at sunset and finding some contrast in extreme close ups (hair on floor) and wide shots. Enjoy!

I am currently undertaking a new approach to 100,000 frames, choosing a theme and sticking with it for 10 days or so (till the next post). I've decided to film next to or utilising some sort of signage, so hmmm... we'll see how that goes. But I thought it could be interesting to place a commonality or restriction to the freedom that I had been experiencing, and see how I deal with it, and try and make it interesting each time even with the similar spatial features.

Anyway more on that next time!

Silly Season!!!

Well what a festive season it has been! I've had many interesting adventures along my travels and activities over Christmas and New Year, which has been very busy but as always the best time of the year!!

Some of my favourite experiences of 100,000 frames so far have happened in this last edit; dancing amongst the Christmas lights, a family watching me intently as I danced near the driver reviver on Christmas eve, a 2 year old girl joining me for a dance on the ground floor of the mall, the train from Olympic Park to Lidcombe in Sydney on NYE....all were great fun and seemed so much more surprising to me in what unfolded during the improvisation. It feels also like I kind of gave myself permission to be a little crazy and just went with whatever happened.

I'm noticing too the importance of changes in depth of shot, having a variance in being close to the camera as well as distanced from it. The focus in the shot changing from a particular body part to my whole body, from site to site, is really interesting when it comes to the editing process and allows a greater use of the camera as a framing medium, to draw attention to things that perhaps we wouldn't ordinarily focus on. This is demonstrated perhaps in the washing up dance, where the movements of my hands are the main point of interest.

Similarly I have been attempting to play more with the idea of coming into and out of the shot/frame, marking the space (when I can) to where I would be in and out of shot. This is also an intriguing creative choice, for me as the performer but also forces the viewer to think outside the box as well as focus in on the characteristics of the space that I have chosen to shoot.

So Enter 2012!!! Excerpt below features Day 47 to Day 78. Enjoy. :)

a little more time to play

Well it has been a great 10 days or so, with a little more time on my hands to really just play around with some different spaces. A favourite was an area of rocks near a storm water drain, I loved playing with the risk of the uneven surface of the ground and making my way through it like a labyrinth.

I have noticed that I really like to be outdoors where possible, that it's more interesting and stimulating to be in an outdoor space or at least in a space where there are other people in the vicinity. Also to simply get outside and be somewhere a little unconventional is so refreshing and takes me away from the usual inside a studio, or at a desk, or in a shop...

Another great thing about this project, as I realised when I was explaining to someone the other day about this project, is how much I like the interaction with other people in the space when I am performing, I really seem to feed off it and it brings out some really interesting movement and responses form me and the people around me. It also makes it more real for me and makes me think about what they must think and how it has affected them...if at all??

The person also asked me why I was doing this blog, and I responded “for my sanity and for my self”. And though sometimes it’s hard to commit to doing it each day, once I do it’s definitely its own reward. Especially in this busy Christmas season, just to be alone and with my own agenda, engaging in my artistic practice in effect like a ritual, and to make people stop and look and be surprised by something in their day, feels just awesome!!

Ok so here is 7^th installment. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!

playing catch up

Finally I have caught up on filming and editing and I'm up to date!!
Was getting a little behind the times there for a while, but definitely going to try and not let this happen again.

Starting to quiet down a bit now at the end of the year and looking forward to just focusing on this, pushing myself out of my comfort zone in terms of spaces and movement choices. It is starting to become habitual and uninteresting to perform, so definitely need to shake it up a bit!

Over the past 2 weeks (gahhhh I can't believe its been that long since my last post) I have experienced some peaks and troughs in the way I’m feeling about this endeavor, it was a little like a chore sometimes, mostly because I didn't have the time to give it the full attention it needed. Other times it has been a welcome release from my other work.

The spaces I have explored tend to be more specific to where I have been working, along my general daily pathways, at QL2 studio and theatre and the park outside the preschool I teach at for example. Still, they have been interesting none the less, turning a familiar space or environment into a performance area, even if I'm the only one there to experience it!

A highlight was filming the end of class for Quantum Leap company training - an open improvisation where I danced with the teenage students for 10 minutes instead of teaching them, was a wonderful feeling. Also revisiting New Acton, the site of a more formalised site specific group performance I was involved in last year, was very interesting. Seeing how the space has transformed and the business of the complex has expanded. People seemed curious and taken aback by my being there and doing that!! even in this art friendly environment...love it!!

6th Installment, this excerpt starts from Day 18 to Day 57.

Let me know any ideas you have for spaces I can explore. Would be great to get some inspiration and feedback!! Cheers

Indoors vs Out

It has been an interesting week, so many variations in the weather that I have had to certainly improvise when it comes to finding innovative spaces to perform and film in. It has been very wet on and off, with some very steamy and hot days, so I have inevitably delved deeper into exploring the indoor spaces that I encounter in my life that seems to be winding up as the year comes to an end. I have been so run off my feet with work that I have found it really difficult, I must be honest, keeping this filming/editing/blogging process going.

Despite this chaos what I have noticed and enjoyed exploring, and also I guess documenting, is the range and diversity of my life activities at the moment. Working for myself, teaching for others, working in a commercial/retail environment has really opened up possibilties to explore some unique spaces. I particularly enjoyed dancing in the back store room of the retail shop I am currently a Christmas casual for and in the change room at David Jones....classic, if only the shop assistants knew the shinaningans I was getting up to!!

So here is the next installment, I have cut the first 2mins of the film to date (to make upload and watching the new stuff easier). Enjoy!