Siobhan Davies Dance presents Manual at Turner Contemporary

View in browser     Siobhan Davies Dance returns to Turner Contemporary from 8 May until 11 May to present Manual, choreographed by Siobhan Davies in collaboration with dance artist Helka Kaski. Manual demonstrates how we are experts in the movements which make up our daily lives. Kaski invites visitors to Turner Contemporary’s current exhibitions, Making Painting: Helen Frankenthaler and JMW Turnerand Edmund de Waal: Atmosphere, to complete a familiar action by providing a set of verbal instructions. Through this conversation it becomes clear that movement which at first may appear easy is actually complex and extraordinary and often results in unexpected dialogue. Manual draws attention to simple actions, meticulously dismantling their timing and order. Originally commissioned for the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), Glasgow in 2013, Manual is remounted within the context of Turner Contemporary’s spring exhibitions. Commenting on Manual Siobhan Davies states: “By introducing Manual into the exhibitions we are inviting visitors to notice stillness and movement in the art works around them. Whilst De Waal’s work is animated by the natural light as it changes and Frankenthaler/Turner’s landscapes show the energy of painting, Kaski works with visitors to generate movement inspired by actions that we all have archived within our own bodies.” Turner Contemporary welcomes back Siobhan Davies Dance for the third time, following previous performancesTo hand in 2013 and ROTOR in 2012. Founded and led since 1988 by choreographer Siobhan Davies, Siobhan Davies Dance has evolved from a touring dance company into an investigative contemporary arts organisation, questioning what is thought of as dance and applying choreography across a range of creative disciplines. Sarah Martin, Head of Exhibitions at Turner Contemporary states: “Turner Contemporary is delighted to host Manual in our spaces and to collaborate again with Siobhan Davies Dance following previous collaborations and performances linked to our exhibitions. Dance is an important part of the programming at Turner Contemporary and the current shows of work by Edmund de Waal and Helen Frankenthaler open up the possibility of different physical responses to these artists’ works offering, we hope, new ways in to the exhibitions for our audiences.”   ‘Placing Manual in an exhibition of modern art works…only added to our appreciation of how beautiful and clever the human body is.’ The Scotsman