Body Tests

Photo Credit: Julie Vulcan

Body Tests was a trilogy of work that explored the boundaries and extremes of my body through the natural, psychological and physical world. It was a series of experiments conducted during a residency titled 'Body as Material' (BAM) hosted by presenting partners Critical Path, Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC), Bundanon Trust and FORM Dance Projects.  

Body Test 1: Natural Body: The ability to  sense the symbiotic relationship we have with the natural world and the human form. This particular experiment involved my body being immersed/buried in sand for a duration of time and sensing both the weight of the sand and my bodies response to that stimulus. Over time both the sand and my body began to synergise as one being finding a natural rhythm to continue through both the discomfort and extremity. 

Body Test 2: Body as Object: Objectification of my body through both physical and non-physical means for a thirty minute duration. In this particular experiment participants were instructed to use my nude body as an object by writing, marking and physically manipulating my body.  To enhance the objectification process further, participants took photos of the process thereby rendering me as both a curiosity and an object. 

Body Test 3: Body as Form and Function: Participants would move my body using set instructions for the duration of an edited soundtrack. The third test in this series of experiments, this test explored the idea of choreographic desires and impulses from those doing the manipulating of the body. 

Credits

Residency Participants:  Ghenoa Gela, Wei Zen Ho, Joshua Pether and Alison Plevey

Facilitator: Julie Vulcan 

Body as Material was made possible through presenting partners Critical Path, Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC), Bundanon Trust and FORM Dance Projects.