This page documents my inaugural exhibition as part of my artistic residency at the Hive, JQ, Birmingham.
This was the first time I was able to display the 3D photographs that I took of young female volunteers re-wilding a nature reserve in Smethwick, Birmingham. This project was part of a socially-engaged research project with artist, Mikhail Karakis and the Tate Liverpool. The Turning World 1 was shown online in April 2020, due to the coronavirus lockdown, the installation at the Tate with the curved screen was postponed.
The transluscent curved screens invited the viewer to lean into the image, which is what you can see here. I was delighted to discover that the 3D glasses created a sense of depth and distance, which combined with the concave curve of the screen allowed the viewer to play with spatial dimenisions and sense perception.
This was an opportunity to show works spanning the years of my Doctoral research project to the public. It was a testing ground for spatial engagement in a community setting.
I also tested the initial drone footage on the curved screen to see how this iteration would draw in the viewer. The viewers would linger infront of the screen and lean into the curve in a similar way to the 3D photographs, mapping a relational movement to the moving drone over the wetlands of the Fens. This project seeks to create moving image that uses ‘the god’s eye view’ (Haraway 1985) to show the re-wilding of the wetlands in my homeland of the Fens, East Anglia. This is driven by hydro-feminist research into Bodies of Water, and how these lands will return to their underwater state in 30 years' time if the climate emergency is not addressed.
The feedback I received was that the viewers were intrigued by the 'ghostly images' of the twins printed on the recycled felt. Many of the viewers returned repeatedly to stand infront of the dyptich, and wondered aloud how it was produced.
Using bio mimicry, I have designed a motion capture vest based on the exoskeleton of a Pangolin, and the curved movement the animal does when under attack. The scales of a Pangolin are made from keratin, and I mimic this material by producing a biomaterial made from activated charcoal (using re-cycled coconut feeders) and agar.
This future research looks at ways of creating technology that is carbon neutral, re-using materials, and using open source software, and soft circuits to create haptic feedback. The costume is designed with an accelerometer and bluetooth sensors which give live feedback as the dancer moves. There is also a buzzer on the cuff which gives haptic feedback when the dancer is touched there. This furthers my research into somaesthetic design and sensory emodiment.
