Converge /\ Diverge
Converge/\Diverge is a series of works that bring together dance and ceramics in an enquiry into the relationship between these two mediums. The resulting performances, objects and installations are the collaborative work of ceramicist Holly Macdonald and DMC member Rosslyn Wythes.
The works compare and contrast dance and ceramics in multiple ways, starting with the material properties of the body and clay and their relationship to time and space. It is underpinned by a shared interest in compositional strategies, abstraction and non-verbal modes of communication. They harness the tension between these mediums to reveal unexpected or unexamined relationships between the bodies, both human and non human. Their research up until this point has been shaped by contemporary theories of materiality, perception, self and togetherness.
This frame allows the collaboration to go beyond an inquiry into medium alone and into understanding identity and notions of place. Given each period of working together has happened at a different location (Toongabbie, Granville, Brussels) there is a need for the work to be responsive and porous to different physical and cultural landscapes. Often found objects are integrated into our research and installations.
- Personal Space, is a process-in-performance action that requires audience involvement to support the continuous build of a hollow clay object. This transitory object captures the ever evolving space in between the participating bodies and conversations. Personal Space was tested in January 2019 at the Artist Commons’ GIF #5 event in Brussels.
- Postage Stamp is an installation that explores Sydney’s iconic building The Sydney Opera House and Brussels’ Atomium. Both buildings hold symbolic meaning for locals and outsiders. The installation seeks to engage with physical location and constructions of national identity.
- Moving Lines is a video work that imagines clay as a locomotive material. It is a study in composing with time. Through the form of video we are able to collage and manipulate clay and the human body’s relationship with time.
- per (form) is working towards creating a live performance that enables both clay and movement to be composed in real time.
Credits
Converge/\Diverge emerged from the Making Spaces Program at Toongabbie and Granville Town Halls.
Photos by Rosslyn Wythes.