Rolling Over My Edges
Solo performance, March 2019
For this work I wanted to create a method of movement and mark-making that did not require me to either hold a mark-making tool with my hand or for me to apply the mark-making material while I was performing. Using carefully placed capsules filled with ink between the layers of fabric on my body and between the layers of fabric on the floor I rolled across the floor to release the ink, while the audience was invited to discharge the capsule they were given at anytime during the performance. The capsules transferred ink from my body onto the floor and from the floor on to my body, thus creating a map of marks as I moved across the canvas.
During my somatic research at Trinity Laban I became aware of sensations in my body, in a newly concentrated way, I could pay attention to what felt comfortable and what felt uncomfortable. I noticed how the edges of my body against hard surfaces take multiple forms: a protruding bone meeting the floor, a twisted limb that can’t go any further, the limited duration of holding a position. Exploring the sensations of these edges evolved into a new movement practice for me. Below is a brief glossary that deconstructs the title and elements I am working with in the practice.
ROLLING – continuous contact with the surface
OVER – going up one side and down another
MY – my body, my bones, my tissues, my bruises, my discomfort, my endurance, my obsession, my oblivion
EDGES – micro (sensing) – pressure, ridge, point, twist, counter-tension, balance, duration macro (feeling) – psychological cliff, holding, suspension, falling, flowing, liquid
Rolling Over My Edges, poem from research in the studio, 17.01.19