Footwork
“Footwork” is an immersive wordless narrative told through an art exhibition about the life of a dancer that is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age.
The inspiration behind this project comes from my sister Edel, who has Multiple Sclerosis. She was a dancer when she was younger and was diagnosed with MS at the age of 19.
There is a 14-year age gap between us. Because of this gap I grew up being naïve to these symptoms she was experiencing when I was younger, and this project is a chance for me to better understand the obstacles she faces every day.
Told across 5 small art exhibition rooms, depicting the bedroom of the dancer at different stages of their life.
Rooms will start to simulate the symptoms of MS as the audience progresses.
As for the artwork in Footwork, I am using a range of mediums such as water colours, colouring pencils and ink. The pieces will have a heavy emphasis on the movement of the dancer, growing fatigue and decline of mental health. To showcase this, I am using a mix of regular static images but also lenticular lenses to make animations of the dancer. As the rooms go on the movement of the dancer declines and the colour of their body turns from red to blue.
Lenticular imagery is a technique that gives images the illusion of depth, change and movement and is used mainly in advertising. This effect is achieved by interlacing multiple images into one image and overlaying a lenticular lens that will direct light in a specific way.
As for the exhibition rooms, I want them to be a sensory experience. It will be a first hand experience on how someone with MS navigates through their everyday symptoms. The floors will get progressively more uneven, writing in journals and on books will become blurred, and walls of the rooms will gradually close in to simulate the loss of depth perception.
The dancer finds solace in teaching other young dancers. Their colour turns from blue to purple.
