Performance, 2015 (Basingstoke, UK)
Gisele Edwards
Designed and produced by M.J.Martinez and M.Sastre for Neck of the Woods
In her live performance, Gisele attaches geometric shapes to her limbs, uncovering the sculptural potential and rhythmic flow of these objects in space. It is a mesmerising routine of intersecting pieces controlled by a seemingly invisible force – her own body.
The concept emerges from Calder’s mobiles, and the way in which the elements of these aerial sculptures dance together to create constellations in space.
Gisele’s use of geometric forms, and their attachment to her suspended body, constitute/offer a proposed synthesis of Calder’s ideas, where the mechanism of the human body becomes the supporting frame for the pieces.
The human body in motion – the mechanics and dynamic possibilities of it- was of particular interest to Calder, in particular that of the (airborne) circus performer or dancer.
The geometric forms, attached to Gisele’s body, dance or move in in response to each other, to frame of her body and to space surrounding them.
These geometries appear as surface, line or volume to the viewer, and point both to the frame (body) that links them, and to the features of the space it occupies, much as Calder’s sculptures occupy and colonize the space in which they hang.
The work comprises a live performance and installation (of photos, video and suspended forms) as well as a full educational workshop for young people.
Please see http://www.circuslondon.com/performance/incollaboration/betwixt-and-beyond-sculpting-the-invisible/ for the video of the live performance, information on the recent exhibition at the Circus Gallery, Marylebone and an interview with the artist.