Presented by Arts House as part of Dance Massive

Vanishing Point A Shian Law

Image: James Wright H

S

Tue 14 – Sat 18 Mar, 8.45pm 60 mins 1 artshouse.com.au Creative Team Artist Statement

Shian Law Benjamin Hurley A séance In a society that would have this Choreographer Understudy Phillip Adams Cam Mclachlan Creating the history mean nothing, there is something Collaborating Assistant Calling the never-born work from essential about the work that was Choreographer Alison Halit the grave, never quite made never made Deanne Butterworth Producer Collaborating Sheridan Gerrald, Living a life of purgatory along the The work being made as we speak Choreographer Thomas Woodman, margin of marginal dance histories Which is to say the work that cannot Jo Lloyd Benjamin Hurley, Milo in be known before it is made, may be Collaborating Hyde, Cam McLachlan, Choreographer/ Luke Fryer, Ellen Davies, At the same time central, crucial never made Dramaturg Emma Riches, Mossy (The only ones, perhaps) But is wished for Matthew Adey Pebbles Though there are always margins to A work whose future is not known, Set & Lighting Designer Performers for James Wright Performance Lecture: the margins and history is kind to no but which we must nonetheless Video Artist/ Grey Area, FUCKDOG one once you’re dead create and make to ever see Cinematographer/Editor Michael McNab (The memory as a weak organ, or: But how to convince other people Christine Francis Musician for Performance Photographer Lecture: FUCKDOG a fact proved wrong by dance) that it is a work? Tait Sengstock These archives and documents Painter encapsulate, and at the same time — Eleanor Ivory Weber Eleanor Ivory Weber Writer totally evade, the countless lost “Vanishing Point” 2017 Marco Cher-Gibard stories that finally make up what we Sound Designer mean, what the work means, Andrew Treloar Costume Designer what the artist means

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Shian Law Phillip Adams Deanne Butterworth Jo Lloyd Choreographer Collaborating Choreographer Collaborating Choreographer Collaborating Choreographer/Dramaturg � � � � Shian Law is an Australian performance artist. He Phillip Adams is the founder and Artistic Director of Deanne Butterworth is a dancer and choreographer. Jo Lloyd is an influential dance artist received formal training in dance at the Victorian Phillip Adams BalletLab, forming the company upon his Her interests lie in the transfer of information and ideas working with choreography as a social encounter, College of the Arts and regularly works as a performer, return home from New York in 1998. Phillip is a graduate from one body to another, the creation of energies, revealing behaviour over particular durations and choreographer, collaborator and dramaturg in the of the Victorian College of the Arts and his performing systems, languages and understanding developed in circumstances. A dance graduate of the Victorian context of dance, live art intervention and trans- arts background spans a 30 year career in contemporary isolation and within groups of people. Her work is often College of the Arts, over the past 15 years Jo has media performance. dance and more recently, visual arts. Phillip lived and responsive to the space in which it is shown and can presented her work in gallery spaces and theatres in worked in New York for a decade after being awarded involve still images, sound, music, text and video. , New York, , and locally in Dance Shian’s multi-faceted conceptual projects are the the ANZ International Fellowship Award in 1988. Deanne studied at Western Australian Academy of Massive, the Biennale of Sydney, Live Works, Dark result of an adept practice spanning several artistic He was a member of several leading dance companies Performing Arts (BA dance, 1993) and Victoria MOFO and Next Wave. Recent projects include; disciplines, including choreography, spatial practice, and worked with many independent choreographers University (2011). Throughout 2017-2019 she is a Confusion for Three, Arts House (2015), All Our Dreams participatory art and screen-based art. Through his including BeBe Miller, Trisha Brown, Irene Hultman, studioartist at Gertrude Contemporary. Come True created with Deanne Butterworth for BUS collaborative practice with a core artistic team, Sarah Rudner, Amanda Miller, Donna Uchizono and Projects (2016) and Mermermer created with Nicola Shian’s work utilises hybrid forms and new discursive Nina Wiener. Over a twenty year period Deanne has worked with Gunn for Chunky Move’s Next Move commission (2016 frameworks wherein the representation of body and the many artists and choreographers including Phillip - Green Room nomination for Female Performer). way we experience dance are investigated. Grandeur, More than a decade on, his achievements and Adams Balletlab, Tim Darbyshire, Maria Hassabi, intimacy, spectatorship and historicity are recurring qualifications cover a range of creative ventures Rebecca Jensen, Shelley Lasica, Shian Law, Jo Lloyd, Jo has performed in the works of choreographers motifs. Shian has worked closely with choreographer/ including commissions, touring, awards, residencies, Sandra Parker, Lee Serle and Brooke Stamp amongst Gideon Obarzanek (Chunky Move), Shelley Lasica, mentor Jo Lloyd, Phillip Adams, Deanne Butterworth, mentoring and a highly regarded body of artistic works. others. Some works include: Dual Reperage in Threes, Sandra Parker, Prue Lang, Shian Law and Ros Warby. Mikala Dwyer, Brooke Amity Stamp, Lara Thoms Phillip has been commissioned to make works by many Dancehouse for Dance Massive (2011); Twinships, and Lz Dunn. companies including Australian Ballet, Chunky Move, Westspace (2012); Doublage, Arts House for Dance Museum of New and Old Art, Guangdong Modern Dance Massive, (2013); Siteless Now, NGV (2014), Regarding Matthew Adey Shian is the recipient of Tanja Liedtke Foundation Company (China), Dance Works Rotterdam (NL), City Yesterday - with Adva Zakai at Slopes (2014); How Set & Lighting Designer scholarship, Cité International Des Art residency, Contemporary Dance Company (HK) and Lux Boreal Choreography Works - with Lasica and Lloyd at � Asialink Residency, Menagerie De Verre, Paris and Ian (Mexico) for Festival of Mexico. Westspace and later at Art Gallery of NSW for Biennale Matthew Adey is a production designer and theatre Potter Travel Grant. Most recently, he was commissioned of Sydney (2015 & 2016); All Our Dreams Come True - artist from Melbourne, Victoria. He works under the by Rafael Bonachela for Sydney Dance Company Phillip is regularly commissioned by Australian dance with Lloyd at Bus Projects (2016); Two Parts of Easy moniker House of Vnholy, specialising in the creation of New Breed 2016, Underbelly Arts 2017 and Dance institutions and universities, and teaches workshops Action, The Substation (2016); The Interlude Spring live performance, set and lighting design, installation Massive Festival 2017. nationally and internationally. 1883, (2016). In 2015 Deanne participated in an and sculpture. Adey graduated from VCA with a Bachelor interdisciplinary notation workshop organised by of Fine Arts - Theatre Production in 2011. HOV’s Shian is the inaugural artist-in-residence at the Hannah Mathews and in 2016 was artist-in-residence performance installations include MONO-, HOMME with Temperance Hall under the stewardship of Phillip at Boyd Studio 1 funded through City of Melbourne. Rebecca Jensen, Death Summit at Dark Mofo and The Adams’ Balletlab. Spectre of Death Looms Large... at Metanoia Live Works.

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James Wright Eleanor Ivory Weber Video Artist/Cinematographer/Editor Writer � � James Wright is an artist, director and cinematographer Eleanor Ivory Weber is a writer and curator. She was working across moving image production. In 2010, he previously Assistant Curator, Photographs at the Art founded NON, a full-service moving image studio Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. She completed a dedicated to the arts and socially engaged practices in Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) (Honours) at the University Australia. In this capacity, James has worked with of Sydney in 2012 with the thesis A process without end: organisations including National Gallery of Victoria, Autonomous art structures and the politics of self- Australian Centre for the Moving Image, GetUp Australia, organisation and was subsequently co-director of 55 Chunky Move, Phillip Adams Balletlab, Big hART, Arts Sydenham Road Marrickville NSW 2204 AU. There she House, Lucy Guerin Inc, Liquid Architecture Festival, curated the group exhibitions Reality Considerations Dance Massive Festival and worked with artists (for the sake of) (2012) and Hyper Spectral Display including Antony Hamilton, Bianca Hester, Robin Fox, (.hsd) (2013). Agatha Gothe-Snape, Matthew Bird, Jo Lloyd, Shian Law, Nicola Gunn, Shelley Lasica, Lucy McRae, Stephanie As a writer she works across multiple formats, Lake, Anthony Pateras, Tarryn Gill & Pilar Mata Dupont. including for periodicals frieze, Column and How To Sleep Faster, for exhibitions in written and spoken form, and as a contributor to books published in Christine Francis Australia and abroad. Photographer � Christine Francis is a Melbourne based photographer specialising in interiors, architecture and design. She graduated in 2002 from a bachelor of visual communication (photography & digital imaging) from the University of Western Sydney. Her clients range from solo practitioners through to large scale firms. Published in international design and architectural publications, her work has taken her across the country and overseas.

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Shian would like to thank his Arts House, as a key program of the City of Melbourne, is artistic team, many of the artists Melbourne’s contemporary and writers who have inspired centre for performance and him along the way. interactive artforms. We support new and diverse ways Vanishing Point is supported by the Australia Council for to make and experience art the Arts, Creative Victoria, Arts House, City of Melbourne, which is participatory and the Besen Family Foundation, Tanja Liedtke Foundation. experiential, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary, curated through a balance of provocation, responsiveness and collaboration with artists and audiences.

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