COMBINE The site and physical situation are the most important conditions from which I construct a work. I have no interest in the history of the building, which is just anecdotal and not relevant, it is the building itself as material that excites me.
Sometimes I name a work in advance, as in this instance to introduce myself to some concerns or issues that I might play with and to set some parameters or givens which allows me the opportunity find a direction and also change my mind about everything.
Combine is constructed in a different way to other performance works I have made, treating it almost like a painting; a detail in one place changes something somewhere else, this is a work developed specifically for V22.
This is the first time I have introduced dance directly into a work. As well as the visual and acoustic properties of V22, I will also borrow ideas from Rauschenberg, Cunningham, Bruce Nauman and Cage as well as the work of Pina Bausch.
Combine was coined by Robert Rauschenberg to describe works, which combined painting with objects to make works that were neither painting nor sculpture. He was also influential in sound and performance, working with the Merce Cunningham Company as a designer and then moving onto making his own theatrical works.
Combine is made in collaboration with the Italian Choreographer Paola Piccato, who has studied in Turin and at the Laban Centre, London and Fari Bradley who is an Iranian-born journalist and electronic musician now living in London, and an active member of London's acclaimed ResonanceFM experimental radio station. Also I am pleased to announce that includes music by Keegan DeWitt, an independent songwriter and award -nominated film composer based in Nashville. His acclaimed sound track for the feature film Cold Weather will form part of the music ensemble. Ian Dearden renowned British Composer and sound designer. Linda Hirst vocalist.
