CURIOUS ENDINGS

November 2014

What strikes me is the fact that in our society, art has become something which is related only to objects and not to individuals, or to life. That art is something which is specialized or which is done by experts who are artists. But couldn't everyone's life become a work of art? Why should the lamp or the house be an art object, but not our life? - Michel Foucault

It began as all good stories do: with curiosity. Remnant Dancers create ephemeral works of residual unfinishedness.

Charity organisations feed those in need.
Artists paint images aching with insight. Still others make beauty with materials, objects, ideas. What if we all collaborated? Could Australian artists working creatively and cross-culturally with aid partners in Myanmar facilitate communication and connectivity through the language of dance, music, art, film? Could dance-making itself carve out a space for social engagement; empowering young Burmese to tell their stories? What might be said in these meeting places?

It unfolded as all good stories do: with tension, drama, crises of character and conflict of choice for the key protagonists. There was laughter in the making; poignancy in speaking a shared language. It was hot and humid in the foreign land. We shared food, hugs and our difference of opinion. We created art work, responsive to stories about home and a dance film that explored ideas of identity and connectivity. We embodied experiences of listening and discovered meeting places of the soul as we made new dance together.

Like all good stories, there is also the wondrous ending. As we share our creative work with diverse communities this month, we realise the ending of our project lingers on, creating a portal to new beginnings. In the artistry; in the lives of each one of us we will continue to encounter our own curious meeting places. 

 Photographic image by Amanda Humprhies, reprinted with permission.