| A delicious taste of the extraordinary.... |
SHH! |
| Diversions Dance Company of Wales , Dance House, Wales Millennium Centre , March 14, 2009 |
The work of Cardiff- based fine artist Sue Williams, now multi-award wining and much sort after by buyers partly as a result of being the only British nominee for the 2006 Artes Mundi prize is a passionate response to the human condition, revealing an ambiguous boundary between a secure place and the insecure place, between the real and the imagined.Drawing takes the major role within the work and it is through the use of the drawn image that the notion of human desire and frailty unfolds. Throughout the process the work teases and questions the notion of the Self – both sexual and cerebral, - particularly in relation to female fantasy, femininity, and vulnerability. A desire to understand the complex nature of communication in all situations particularly in the bedroom, the lap-dancing club, from intimate relationships, relationships between different cultures, binge drinking, and the sex industry to street culture.(Some of the above must be attributed to Iwan Bala) Her young ladies are St. Trinian-like but much more precocious. Many of her exhibitions have had a very theatrical atmosphere. This must be what has drawn Diversions Artistic Associate Director Roy Campbell-Moore to bring her work to life accompanied by silence, music from Moloko, Diamond Gap, Chopin, Eminem and BBC Radio 4 and magnificently aided by the precision and excellence of the two choreographer/dancers. The lithe and beautiful Chloe Loftus who along with her partner Jem Treays, with Williams and Campbell-Moore, share that essential empathy with the vulnerability of the human condition that must underline all creative work. It’s from that high degree of empathy and understanding that the excellence and excitement emerges far more than from the erotic and sensual moments that so precisely reflect William’s drawings. They feature very large on one wall of the Dance House. “Loftus displays and enchanting grace and beauty as well as a touch of humour and a faultless athleticism that makes us gasp, gently” That was how I remarked on her prowess in 2006, now she again does all that with an even deeper understanding, a remarkable strength and a sensuality from which that touch of humour is never very far away. Treays is her perfect partner, his robust, yet tremendously agile masculinity both in harmony and contrasting with the delicacy of his accomplice. We meet them as they arise from their bed. Treays, is also an artist with subtle humour underpinning much of his performance. He then dons gym shorts and tee-shirt, does an early morning work-out and sits at what at first appears to be a well scrubbed pine breakfast table. Loftus soon joins him and they execute the most erotic and athletic ‘pas de deux’ that hits you right between the eyes. Modern dance, and classical ballet too, in a much more stylistic manner, explore and strive to push the movement of the human body to its limits. A combination of the strong wooden table and her own, not available to the naked eye, muscularity allows Loftus to demonstrate that she has virtually reached that limit. She is magnificent to watch and all the time we see the influence of Williams’ pictures. We are given anther delicious taste of the extraordinary way these two wonderful artists fuse together, in the living room as Treays tries to kid us that he wants to watch rugby on the television. With so much sex and sensuality on display it is not surprising that we eventually find our self in a pole dancing environment. This gives Loftus an excellent opportunity to bring life to some of Williams’ more risqué drawings. Often through the hour we are almost dropping over into a pornography that would kill the aesthetic. The fine judgement of these three consummate artists never allows this to happen. In a work of art knowing what not to do can be as vital as knowing exactly what to do. Here we have everything absolutely right. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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