Artist Talk - Kate Wilson
Sligo based artist Kate Wilson talks about the development of her festival commission ‘Folds of the Soul / Portraits in Time’, an embodied approach to image and movement creation within improvised duet and portrait forms
Portraiture remains a unique and long-established genre for the exploration of our relational experiences of self and other, both in the collaborative act between artist and subject, and in the enduring generated image. Whilst discussion of the inherent dialogic aspects within portraiture have been ongoing throughout its history, the explicitly relational media of dance duet incorporated in Folds of the Soul/ Portraits in Time seeks to further unveil some of the deeper implicit elements. Contextualised by her background in dance and visual art, Kate has collaborated with three dance artists in integrated processes of improvised dance duet and portraiture in charcoal and oil paint. The resulting installation includes live performance, ten completed works on canvas and paper, and two video works, Curves of Time and Interferometer. The video works whilst revealing palpable disciplines within singular processes also explore the emerging relationships between drawing and process, and painting and performance. Here we are also invited to consider the drawing process in connection with the expression of trajectory in movement, and painting with the sensing of internal forces preceding movement. With an ongoing interest in how new modes of practice and extended understanding can emerge through a softening of boundaries between dance and visual art forms, Folds of the Soul/ Portraits in Time investigates the inherent dynamic aspects of ourselves and our interactions, bringing us towards new definitions in visual art portraiture and dance.
Kate Wilson has a background in visual art and dance and her practice, based in County Sligo, is both interdisciplinary and collaborative. She is an honours graduate of the Slade School of Art and recipient of Masters in Creative Practice from Independent Dance & Trinity Laban, London. In 2015 Kate founded Undercurrent network which explores issues of mobility and inclusiveness in the arts, creating innovative performances with movement practitioners from diverse backgrounds. Community & school outreach form an integral part of Kate’s practice and research. As a lead artist for the Irish Teacher Artist Partnership design team, she works with the department of Education, training teachers and artists as well as mentoring for Roscommon and Leitrim county council arts initiatives.
Artist Talks
Join us online for a series of conversations exploring the creative practice and ideas of each of the artists who would have presented work at our festival had pandemic circumstances allowed. Steve Batts will interview Caroline Bowditch (Aus) and Linda Fearon (Armagh), Kate Wilson (Sligo), Suzannah McCreight (Belfast), Natasha Bourke (Cork) and Zoe Ramsey (Derry) to find out more about the work they were making for the Echo Echo Festival their personal history, work practice and ideas, and the ways they have adapted to "Covid Times". We hope these talks will whet the appetite for when we are in a position to present the performances properly, hopefully in the not too distant future.
You can join the conversation with questions and comments towards the end of each interview. If you have a question you would like to submit beforehand please email: steve@echoechodance.com and put "artist talks" and the name of the artist in the subject line.
Echo Echo Festival Presents
Zoom link for all events
Passcode: 661561
Programme pdf
Thanks
Echo Echo Festival Presents is kindly supported by Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the National Lottery through ACNI, and Derry City and Strabane District Council.