BETWEEN WALLS

Between Walls is a response to the year of lockdown, where people throughout the world were confined at home, literally, between walls. Exploring isolation, dis-connection, social interaction and distancing.

Two performers, move across the performing area in isolation, seperate from each other, never connecting. But gradually as the piece develops their movements start to acknowledge the presence and absence of the other - and they begin to rotate and gravitate into each others orbit. It is only in the final moments that they make eye contact. 

The key musical work is the 1992 composition, Two6 by John Cage for which Smith has world-wide permission to use in video, performance and live settings, the music comes from the album Four Walls. Smith acknowledges the support from the John Cage Trust. The music composition is exactly 20 minutes in duration.  Smith records and documents every workshop. This is a link to one of the workshop rehearsal films relevant to this proposal. The film will be made for an outdoor setting.

Between Walls emerged out of a series of workshops that Smith, held weekly from September to December 2020. After a pause during the third lockdown, they resumed on 15 March 2021 and continue each week. These regular workshops have become part of his studio practice, every session documented. Smith has been influenced by and studying work by artists including, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, Pina Bausch, Yvonne Rainer, Joan Jonas and Anne Teresa Keersmaeker. There is also a connection with William Carlos Williams poem Between Walls (below) written in 1938. Williams was a full time doctor throughout his writing career. So particularly relevant at this moment. Williams is concerned with emptiness and brokenness, themes that also connect with Smith’s own practice

The first public performance of Between Walls will be on September 18th 2021 as part of the strangelove time based media festival.

Smith has been working with long term collaborators and the current team include performers Ash McNaughton and Lise Boucon and the renowned British composer John Woolrich as musical consultant.