Walking with WaterWestern Australian Maritime Museum 2005

Walking with Water, June 17-22 2005, was a major collection of underwater performance artefacts, video screenings and a live performance by artist and commercial diver Sarah Jane Pell. Sarah Jane Pell is internationally recognised for her unique underwater endeavours performing across Australia, UK and Scandinavia. This was also an amazing opportunity to see her perform Aquabatics live in a custom-made breathing apparatus.

Aquabatics literally translates as ‘walking with water’ and it is the basis for a PhD Visual Arts at Edith Cowan University where Sarah Jane has proposed ‘Aquabatics as new works of live art’. The high-risk experimental live performance constituted the final examination presentation. “This research comes from my desire to see if it is possible to use diving and the art of pneumatics to develop underwater performances,” Ms Pell said.

The Western Australian Maritime Museum and Edith Cowan University joined forces last month for a spectacular exhibition where performance, art and diving collided. “This newly proposed field of research is at the crossroads of visual and new media arts, performance and various strands of physiological and hyperbaric research. The exciting collision of ideas and technologies investigates ‘Aquabatics’ as new works of Live Art. “I began the journey by becoming a qualified commercial diver and so far have also devised and performed a series of live performances and videos, produced public exhibitions and installations, an operations manual, made various physiological-technological interface recommendations, conceptual discoveries and proposals. “I have also produced associated landbased works that allude to varying states of ‘immersion’ and conditions of ‘saturation’. “It is my intention that ‘Walking with Water’ reflect diverse media geographies, biographies and choreographies to cite my relationship to the deep blue and the experiential embodied nature of performing live art underwater. The projections remember passed performances, the sculptural apparatus reveal their processes and the live work continues the journey.”

Ms Pell’s practice is at the intersection of performance, pneumatic and diving technologies and underwater biotech interfaces. She is an Associate Researcher to the Live Art Unit, Nottingham Trent University UK and completed a PhD Visual Arts, Edith Cowan University in June. The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of major sponsors Edith Cowan University, The Western Australian Maritime Museum, Artrage and BSP Broomstick Productions and the countless individuals who made ‘Walking with Water’ possible. - Intersector 2005

Discussion

Walking with Water was one part of a submission for a PhD Visual Arts submitted to Edith Cowan University and examined by Stelarc, Assoc. Prof. Shannon Bell, and Dr. Mark Minchinton. The retrospective exhibition included both media performance screenings and installed artifacts from six aquatic-inspired performances including two works from the UnderCurrent series, the highly evocative Hydrophilia ; the paired works of Second Nature Second Skin and Revolution and the 100 invited guests at the Opening night were also given a preview of a live performance Odyssey. On the occassion of her defence, the artist performed Odyssey as a parting gesture - a swan song from the mouth of the Swan River - demonstrating the realities of live art performance - testing for the first time - a fully-enclosed wearable hand-made life-support system with all the dramas and problem-solving that come with the inherent risks posed. The artist walked breathing from the system from the ocean harbour waters and along the Submarine slip way of Victoria Quay during a wild thunderstorm with crews relaying footage of her journey to an appreciative audience welcoming her inside the museum. Once the apparatus was removed, Pell stood before her peers and examiners, soaking wet, breathless and thoroughly delighted to defend the submission of 'Aquabatics as New Works of Live Art' as a PhD Visual Arts to Edith Cowan University.

Reviews

Marshall, J., (2005) The Art of Life Support, Real Time & On Screen Vol68, Aug/Sep 2005, p.48

Britton, S., (2005) uncollectable artist? New Work ‘Aquabatics’ Sarah Jane Pell, Artlink Australia, Vol25 No.3, p.58.

Ed. (2005) Walking with Water, Intersector WA Public Sector Magazine, Vol11, No.6, 1 July 2005 p.26.

English, A. (2005) Artnotes WA: Sarah Jane Pell, Art Monthly Australia, No.180 June 2005 p.51.