Saturday, March 26, 2022
The paintings and prints presented in Shane Pickett: Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land that I Have Traveled) explore the relationship between the landscape, body, time, and healing through art making and motion. As a part of its programming, the McClung brought in Momentum Dance Lab (MDL) to develop a series of performances in response to Pickett’s work. The choreography is original to this series as are two of the musical compositions.
Program:
Dance 1 – My Country
Music: Composed by Johnathan Kelly
Dancers: Kelli Hudson, Sarah Lynch, and Kate Jolly
Choreographed by Shannon Eftenland and the dancersDance 2 – Dots in the Line
Dancers: Emily Kersey, Gururas Khalsa
Music: “Wading in Waist-High Water” by Fleet Foxes
Choreographed by Shannon Eftenland and Emily KerseyDance 3 – In Three Parts
Music: Composed by Matthew Stanley
Dancers: Louisa Rader, Hannah Peterson, Katie Watson, and Gwythian Ramsay
Choreographed by Emily Kersey
“Dots in the Line” featuring dancers Emily Kersey & Gururas Khalsa in the Shane Pickett exhibition.
This project as described by MDL’s Emily Kersey:
This is a celebration of Shane Pickett’s work through the collaboration of dance, music, and visual arts. During the latter part of his career, Pickett began creating his works of art by forgoing a brush to paint directly with his hands. This was, in part, due to his lifelong struggle with rheumatoid arthritis, but he also had a desire to have greater connection to his subject, the landscape. His landscape paintings became groundbreaking, an expressive form of gestural abstraction connected to his spirituality as a Nyoongar. Pickett believed that movement and art could express healing of the land and body. This collaboration of dance movement combined with Pickett’s paintings is a reflection of this idea of the healing power of various forms of artistic expression.
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Momentum Dance Lab is a collaborative of dancers who teach, train, and perform in the East Tennessee community. They are passionate about continuing professional quality dance training and providing performance outlets for adults. |