Michelle Wilkinson is a movement artist and practitioner based in East Devon. As part of Dance in Devon’s Dance Card Michelle has written a blog about her firthcoming project ‘Moving Marks Installation’ March 19th – May 3rd at the Neo:gallery in a shopping precinct in Bolton. The project is supported by Dance in Devon’s Dance Card, Arts Council England, Grants for Arts, Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust, Small Things Collective and Neo:artists.
‘Moving Marks’ is about transient environmental movement and the trances it creates. It features two multi-disciplinary artists, myself and Catherine Hawkins who is a member of Neo:artists in Bolton. There are 2 invited artists Pauline Dyer from Devon, Jayne Seddon a Manchester based visual artist and participants of the creative walks project on Pennington Flash Country Park, Leigh.
I first met Catherine 7 years ago while training on Helen Poynor’s Walk of Life, non-stylised and environmental movement programme in Devon/Dorset. Dance in Devon’s Dance Card has supported me once for this training programme and now for Walk of Life mentorship programme I am currently on. Although living and working respectively in Devon and Greater Manchester, Catherine and I have maintained a supportive dialogue about our creative explorations in different landscapes, the southern Jurassic coast and post-industrial north.
During the first week of the installation, March 19th-22nd, there will be live movement. I am exploring gentle undulating movement in a large material womb sac and Catherine is moving in relationship to an environment of soft fabric spines which she has made. These will be photographed by artist Leila Romaya and I will share these photos as soon as they are available.
Moving Marks Installation desires to create a habitat in which to share marks on paper and fabric, film, print and soft sculpture, a trail leading to ongoing, process-based environmental work. Rock Haven is a film I have made of my experience of being and moving in rocky seascapes interwoven with studio exploration where five chairs become my rock-scape.
Some of the wooden display boxes, from their outdoor home in Pennington Flash, will find their place in the installation featuring the creative work of the community. This on-going participatory project of Catherine’s is featured on her website.
For the last 7 years the land and the sea of the North of England and Devon/Dorset have inspired and held our work and we in turn have supported each other. It seems only natural that we should at last collaborate by bringing our relationship with the environment into the Neo:gallery in Bolton and share this journey with others.
