Local
underwater artist prepares international premiere of her new
work — and TUCF is there to help!
Inspired by Perth’s crystal clear waters, Sarah Jane Pell
is preparing a performance with an aquatic theme to present
at New Territories incorporating the prestigious National Review
of Live Art in Glasgow, Feb 2003.
Her remarkable developments of a new art form ‘Aquabatics’,
and the local underwater project development of Blue Angels:
an Opera of Aquanauts has engendered considerable excitement
across Perth and the Port of Fremantle. She is actively forging
exciting collaborations with The Underwater Centre Fremantle,
engineers, divers, behavioural and medical scientists and many
of the City’s diverse physical performers. This undertaking
is so radical that even NASA are interested in the research
activities.
While the ARTi Aquabatics Research Team initiative is a unique
opportunity to study physiological and psychological effects
on Sarah underwater in controlled performance conditions, it
is also an opportunity for the artist to create new media techniques
through a groundbreaking fusion of underwater movement, dance,
gymnastics and art.
Sarah encourages the viewer to share in her water world to experience
the serenity and adrenalin it evokes. The breadth and depth
of her vision and philosophy are most inspiring, and her creative
energy infectious.
Sarah commenced her research in this area by becoming a fully
qualified ADAS Part 1 & Part 2 Restricted Commercial Diver
at The Underwater Centre Fremantle during 2002. Sarah was affectionately
known as the ‘artist in residence’ during her time
at TUCF as she worked alongside both experienced and trainee
occupational divers including pearl divers, construction divers
and scientists. As part of her course Sarah gained experience
in sub-surface inspection, search, construction and maintenance
operations. The majority of these exercises were conducted in
zero visibility & extreme environmental conditions. Her
most challenging moment was using hand held power tools to drill
on a swinging stage in a 3-5m swell at a depth of 30m!
At one stage Sarah’s training was interrupted by an ear
barotrauma however she was able to use the opportunity to work
with teams beyond her level of experience as they prepared for
offshore air diving to 50m by operating panels & communications
in preparation for the divers to undertake surface decompression
in an onboard chamber and performing duties as divers attendant
and trainee supervisor. These experiences will be invaluable
for the development of her vision for aquabatics, when she will
be able to work for months on end in her underwater studio.
After performing at the first Australian National Review of
Live Art in Midland Railway Workshops earlier this year, she
has been invited to perform as a Platform Artist in Glasgow
2003. Sarah will have her work studied and reviewed by her international
peers and will be invigorated by contact with international
best practice.
Sarah is preparing a work titled ‘Second Nature: Second
Skin’ for the NRLA. This work calls for the Principal
Artist/ Aquanaut to use a combination of strength and grace
to fly through the water like a bird. This magical feat will
be achieved using sophisticated aquabatic techniques to operate
life-sized manual wings based on early designs by Leonardo da
Vinci. Here, Sarah’s commercial diving training will be
an invaluable when undertaking the highly controlled neutral
buoyancy manoeuvres with her vision obstructed by a full face
mask.
There is no pool or ocean at the NRLA performance venue therefore
Sarah is filming the underwater performance in Western Australian
waters so that it can be projected as a back drop for her live
performance in Glasgow. She will perform live suspended on a
bungee harness in front of the projected ‘water wall’
to move in synch with her own pre-recorded image. Sarah hopes
to translate some of the beauty of our local aquatic treasures
through the show and communicate her vision for the wider project
to develop International contacts and support.
The NRLA is Europe’s most prestigious festival for performance
and time based arts, promoting the integration of risky and
minority art forms within a high profile, international context.
It is a festival that brings together established and emerging
artists across all art disciplines, to celebrate a rich and
influential area of cultural practice whilst acting as a safe
house for innovation and creative risk.
This is a most impressive invitation for a local artist and
Edith Cowan University’s inaugural PhD Visual Arts Candidate.
It is also a chance to continue the artistic dialogue that was
initiated by the exchange of ideas between Perth’s artistic
community and the UK artists at the NRLA Midlands Railway Workshops
this year.
Sarah is seeking support to prepare ‘Second Nature: Second
Skin’ and the wider research of the ARTi Aquabatics Research
Team initiative. The NRLA is a noteworthy occasion where international
arts delegates are invigorated by contact with international
best practice and network furiously to build international links
with curators, performers and theoreticians, as well as discuss
collaborations and appearances across the globe.
"I hope that the debut screening of ‘Second Nature:
Second Skin’ will tantalise audiences with the fruits
of my most recent discoveries. In a professional sense, this
invitation would enable me to take the next step of creative
maturity, almost certainly leading to a quantum leap in the
intensity of my practice and an exponential growth in my ability
to pursue creative research in preparation for the production
of ‘Blue Angels: an Opera of Aquanauts’ in late
2003.
For more information contact:
TUCF
8 Rous Head Road, North Fremantle, WA 6159, Australia
Tel: +61 8 9336 3343
FAX: +61 8 9336 3345
Email: milly@tucf.com.au
