- Wintering
Premieres at Kyoto Art Center. February 4th & 5th 2012.
Currently in Kyoto with collaborator Ben Taaffe (obsessed with all things sound). From November 2011- February 2012 we are working in residence at Kyoto Art Center. We are thinking about borderlines, crossing, tipping points, communities, collecting. As Ben just so eloquently put it we ‘ like the cut of Kyoto’s jib’.
Time: 27 May 2011, 7pm
Venue: Taipei Artist Village
7 Beiping East Rd, Taipei
During my residency at Taipei Artist Village I have given myself the challenge… “How do I make work that is able to be transformative and a vision for the future, and at a time when we so desperately need one?†If you happen to be in Taipei please join me for an evening of sharing what I have found, through both performance and conversation.
* Many thanks to City of Perth and Taipei Artist Village for supporting this project.
Currently in Taiwan carrying out a 2 month artist residency at Taipei Artist Village, (thanks to City of Perth and their ‘sister-city’ relationship with Taipei). I’m falling in love with this city more and more every day. So much life and joy. So much to see and do…its hard to find the time to actually make work!
The Project….
During my residency here I started by redefining a kind of ‘artist statement’ to better define what I do and why I do it, in the hope to refine and gather together my energies back to what really interests me and what really drives me as an artist. This is what I came up with.
‘I am inspired by the capacity of art to make sense of the world around us and the capacity of imagination to dream up the future. I hope, in some small way, that my art practice can contribute to the transformation of our world.’ -Aimee Smith 2011
For several years now my practice has been focused on the capacity of art to address issues of our time, and this has often been an act of criticism and commentary, in the hope to incite conversation around these issues. But recently I’ve been sensing a growing un-ease amongst people around me, and a feeling that many of us already understand and have concern for these issues BUT we are stuck on the action. What do we do about it? How do we act on these feelings? This had brought me this new artist statement that recognises the potential and need to have new visions for the future, and a way to transform and act on these visions. Can an artist do this? Can my art practice operate in this way?
During my residency at Taipei Artist Village I will be negotiating and navigating my way through how this statement physically manifests in my practice. How do I make work that is able to be transformative and a vision for the future, at a time when we so desperately need one?
There is a Chinese proverb; “The beginning of wisdom is calling things by their right namesâ€. I have a feeling this may be a good place to start….
After a mad 4 hours a day, 10 days straight at the WA Museum, Accidental Monsters of Meaning has finally come to a close. Thanks to all those who viewed the work, stumbled across it by accident, and wrote beautiful and thoughtful comments in our guest book and via email… including this blog post by Magdeline Lum http://philosophicallydisturbed.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/accidental-monsters-of-meaning/
..and review by Nina Levy in the West Australian
As part of the dance installation Accidental Monsters of Meaning, currently showing at the Western Australian Museum, we are endeavouring to reduce our carbon output of the project by asking people to contribute environmentally ‘green’ actions.
We’ll be blogging them here throughout the exhibition’s season March 25 – April 3, 2011.
If you’d like to contribute please email your first name and ‘green’ action to aimeesmith8@gmail.com.
Friday 25 March 2011
Aimee rode her bike to work at the Museum today.
Deb caught 2 buses to work.
Deb refused plastic bags 3 times.
Ash rode her scooter to the city instead of her car.
Rhiannon signed an Amnesty International Petition for Women’s Rights in Iran.
Nat rode her bike to work.
Saturday 26 March 2011
Lyn participated in Earth Hour.
Ash participated in Earth Hour.
Aimee turned off her lights for Earth Hour tonight.
Baige caught a train.
Terry planted vegies.
George turned off at the power-points.
Ash shopped at the farmer’s markets today.
Rhiannon caught a train to work.
Bianca rode her bike to meet her friends.
Aimee rode her bike to work at the Museum today.
Sunday 27 March 2011
Deb bought local apples.
Isabella caught the train home from work.
Nat got her coffee in a cup instead of takeaway.
Aimee bought her groceries from the local greengrocers.
Aimee rode her bike to work at the Museum today.
Deb caught a bus to work.
Monday 28 March 2011
Aimee rode her bike to work at the Museum today.
Bianca drank her coffee ‘in’ instead of ‘take-away’
Isabella caught the train this morning.
Nat rode her bike.
Rhiannon stuffed her groceries into her handbag instead of taking a plastic one.
Deb caught a bus to work.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Aimee did her washing with enviro friendly washing powder.
Deb caught a bus to work.
Aimee cooked a special vegetarian dinner.
Nat put a bucket in her kitchen sink to catch and reuse the excess water.
Wednesday 30 March 2011
Ash refused a plastic bag when she purchased vegetarian cook book.
Nat got her coffee in a cup instead of takeaway.
Aimee rode her bike to work at the Museum today.
Aimee fed her worm farm her food scraps.
Deb caught a bus to work.
Ash caught a bus to work.
Thursday 31 March 2011.
Claudia and Alex rode their bikes to the museum.
Deb caught a bus to work and packed her groceries in a calico bag.
Aimee rode her bike to work and a gig at the Bird.
Ash caught a bus to work.
Aimee ate vegetarian meals all day.
Deb bought organic sustainable fair trade shoes!
Friday 1st April
Aimee rode to work.
Aimee ate vegetarian meals all day.
Saturday 2nd April
Deb caught a bus to work.
Sunday 3rd April
Aimee rode to work.
Deb caught a bus to work.
Ben rode his bike.
Accidental Monsters of Meaning…..coming soon.
Watch now….
Accidental Monsters of Meaning
Devised by Aimee Smith
Photo: David Collins
Performers: Rhiannon Newton & Aisling Donovan
In March the WA Museum will transform its temporary exhibition space into a living environment of dancing bodies. Accidental Monsters of Meaning is a live-art installation examining the monsters of our time and where they are leading us.
In a room filled with display cases five dancers twist and turn through imagery of consumer culture, are remote controlled by the audience, travel through an arctic wonderland and converse only in advertising slogans. Choreographer Aimee Smith invites you to navigate through this space and ask the question, what will take for our species to survive?
25 March – 3 April 2011
Weekdays: 10 – 2pm Weekends: 12 – 4pm
Western Australia Museum – Perth
Perth Cultural Centre, James Street
Concept / Choreography: Aimee Smith
Performers: Deb Robertson, Rhiannon Newton, Bianca Martin, Aisling Donovan, Natalie Holmwood & Isabella Stone
Sound design: Ben Taaffe
Costume design: Esther Gauntlett and Jaxon Reibel
Set construction: Ainsley Canning