Sarah Wendt & Pascal Dufaux

The work of the dancer: a short-term archival device

Confederation Centre of the Arts, Studio One

Thursday, September 21, 2017 - 10pm-12am

ABOUT THE PROJECT

‘I’m a dancer. When I trained to be a dancer, I was taught to be malleable, flexible, available, strong and to learn the movements of others as quickly as I possibly could. I was essentially training to be a physical labourer.’

In this performed essay, artists and collaborators Sarah Wendt and Pascal Dufaux explore the application of choreography as sculpture and movement as material and consider the value of human energy in relation to material cost, issues of labour, artistic legacy, and authorship. On a small stage, a closed-circuit video camera is filming the projection of its own video signal, with a 15 second delay. Between the camera and the projection, a lecture and choreography  takes place. The result is a visual echo, as we see the reader and their movements projected with multiplying layers of delay, into a retreating video dissolution. The video it creates live, results in an accumulation of archived choreographic and visual material and thus, acts as a short-term archival device, which can be played back in the space in the absence of a performer.