THE HUGGING PROJECT
The Hugging Project was a speculative dance production, the choreography incorporated five dancers who in turn would couple up with a different person leaving each time a single dancer to perform their solo. The piece evolved around the action of giving a hug before the dancers would collapse onto the floor. I read into the piece a story of fragility and breaking, I researched into different mental and psychological health conditions as I wanted to use this research as the start of my designing process. I felt watching the piece it was a lonely experience and even when hugging I felt the performers were giving a sense of isolation, this work in parallel to my research of the mind.
Choreography: Scarlet Perdereau
Set & Costume: Iona E. Simpson
Venue: Speculative project for Saddler Wells
Different mock model ideas in response to watching the performance
The costumes for The Hugging Project were inspired by skin, the softness and the delicacy and yet with strength and exposure. In this experiment I have used PVA glue with paint to recreate a texture and look of pieces of skin. Each piece is cut in the pattern of the muscular skeleton before being sewn together to create an abstract body adornment. I also experimented with using clay to cover parts of the body, I was interested in how the dry clay would break away from the dancers during the performance, dusting the black floor.
As part of my exploration in to the themes of this project I researched and responded to the idea of fragmentation both in body and mind. I wanted to see to what limit a figure could be drawn whilst still being able to be recognized as a body/ person, amplifying the idea that just because someone is 'broken' or their mind fragmented does not make them less of a person. My ideas developed into making the structure of my set into a representation of the complicated & complex visualization of the mind.
