P E T R I F I C A T I O N

LAWRENCE ENGLISH (QLD) | SARAH JANE PELL (VIC/WA)

Expositions | Creative Development
SubCulture R&D | London | 2005
ARC Biennial | New Media Exhibition | Brisbane | 2005
Judith Wright Performing Arts Centre | Studio Residency | Brisbane | 2005
RawSpace | New Media Residency | Brisbane | 2005
Time_Place_Space3 | National New Media Residency | Adelaide | 2004

THE IDEA
What performance potentials are harboured, and also penetrate, deep into our bodies? Pell is submerged in a human-scale Petri dish. English amplifies the body, vessel and resonant architectural spaces, then to interrupt somatic cadence, Pell’s body is a petrified in a gel medium. Dissolving solution releases the body after 10minutes. A Paramedic stands by.

BEGINNING | CONCLUSION | BEGINNING
“We acknowledge that new media performance exemplifies a multitude of anxieties but we encourage you to take heart. Sometimes it is through these artworks that awareness and respect for life emerges. We are currently investigating ideas of resonant exchange in a piece called Petrification that may further this discussion. You see, by focusing on the cycle of inhalation and exhalation we attempt to amplify one of the body’s most persistent and essential rhythms. Then, we intend to interrupt the somatic cadence of the body through a process of bodily petrification. Beautiful huh?

The transparent laboratory process of petrification could be billed as a physical act, a political statement, an aural presence, a sublime meditation and, maybe even a tool for self-transformation. We can’t really be certain. Perhaps it is a naive form of bio-acoustic bell jar dramaturgy. Nevertheless, you can rest assured that it falls under the “new media” umbrella. We are interested in what anxieties are inescapable in the body, the enveloping world and the conditions for life. What performance potentials are harboured, and also penetrate, deep into our bodies? These questions are a point of departure for this piece.” Pell & English 2005



L-R: English performing (archive shot). Live camera feed image of English projected onto the RAWSpace Galleries doors. Photographer Beck English.


DISCUSSIONS OF THE PROCESS
Collaborative discussions were brief and broad. We employed manufacturers to fashion the apparatus, then freighted, purchased and hired relevant equipment & inspected the site. Seven weeks later we re-engaged with the project in the same city. We shared a similar vision but held differing expectations of the terms of engagement with, and (in)visibility of, roles. Informal sharing of our conceptual processes enabled us to map territories for working and we slowly unravelled our priory perceptions. The final three days consisted of multiple joint site inspections, sourcing material, a re-evaluation of methodologies and mutual attempts to balance and consider each others energies, compliment working potentials and extend each other beyond our professional comfort zones. We pursued independent practical creative performance preparations by night, collaborative decision-making, problem-solving and logistics together by day. We worked without technical support, private access for rehearsal, or budget. The site was a public thoroughfare and both the space, and the AV gear could only be accessed for installation the morning on the day of the show. Consequently the live performance was our first open-laboratory of the configuration and our conceptualisation. We were very encouraged and hope to refine the work further in a more supportive and appropriate context in the future.


WEB LINKS
http://www.arcbiennial.com

http://www.rawspace.org

http://www.performancespace.org/tps3

http://www.room40.org

CATALOGUE
Stephens, T., (Ed) Petrification, Sarah Jane Pell & Lawrence English, ARC Biennale Catalogue October 28-30 2005 Art Workers Alliance, Brisbane Australia p 49 ISBN 0 9757549 12

TELEVISION
ARC Biennial 2005 Petrified! Pell & English, Vulture, Arts Program, ABC TV, Aired Nov 1 2005

We greatfully acknowledge the support of The Judith Wright Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane who provided rehearsal space for the development of thie piece and ArtsWA who supported Sarah Jane Pell with an Artflight Grant.

Click picture for close up view