Press Release: my body's an exhibition: Curated by Christopher Matthews

[Jan McNulty]

Monday 9 March 2020

UK PREMIERE
Wild Card: Christopher Matthews / formed view
my body’s an exhibition
Lilian Baylis Studio, EC1R 4TN
Thursday 14 May 2020
Entry: 6pm, 7pm and 8pm 
Tickets: £17
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com

 

Sadler’s Wells’ Wild Card programme returns with more offerings from a new generation of artists, curating their own evenings.

 

On Thursday 14 May 2020, American-born, London-based Christopher Matthews curates a special event in the Lilian Baylis Studio. Featuring several movement-based installations, my body’s an exhibition opens a dialogue on themes of gender, class structure, intersections of the classical and contemporary, icon versus self, and pop culture.

 

Taking the Janet Jackson lyrics from the 2008 song Feedback - “my body’s an exhibition baby” - as a curatorial provocation, audiences are invited to question the relationship between the body as object and spectatorship, echoed in the lyrics describing the sensual urges of two bodies coming into contact. In this event, Matthews builds on his practice of investigating the relationship between dance’s historical position and its mirroring in pop culture.

 

As part of this curation, four international performance makers and visual artists present a series of works, some of which remain previously unseen in London. Phoebe Berglund (US), Fenia Kotsopoulou (Greece/UK), Bhenji Ra (Australia) and Fabritia D’Intino (Italy) display video, photographic prints and live installations alongside body-focused prints from the Sadler’s Wells archive, as well as two of Matthews’ own works. 

 

Lads (2017/18) exposes the influence of neo-classical culture on early modern dance, isolating a popular hashtag in order to challenge traditional gender roles. Ladscan be experienced as an Instagram-based curation (@lads2017). UK premiere My Body’s Number 1 explores class structure through references to go-go boys and Greco-Roman nudes.

 

Matthews comments:

“As a performer, I have had the privilege to perform in theatres like Sadler’s Wells and now I am excited to have the opportunity to be showing my own work here, as well as inviting such wonderful artists I respect.”

 

Matthews has performed in countless London venues including The Hayward Gallery, Tate Modern, The V&A and The Barbican. His Untitled Video Portrait (radio edit)took First Prize at the ninth International Choreographic Captures Competition (2017). This is Matthews’ first appearance at Sadler’s Wells.
 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

About Sadler’s Wells 

Sadler’s Wells is a world-leading creative organisation dedicated to dance in all its forms. With a rich theatrical heritage of over three centuries, it offers a year-round programme of performances and learning activities. Our mission is to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our vision is to create, through dance, a depth of connection beyond borders, cultures and languages, so we see ourselves in each other. 

 

Audiences of over half a million come to Sadler’s Wells’ three London theatres each year, with many more enjoying our touring productions at venues across the UK and around the world and accessing our content through digital channels. Sadler's Wells commissions, produces and presents more dance than any other theatre in the world, embracing the popular and the unknown. Since 2005, we have helped to bring over 170 new dance works to the stage, many of them involving our 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies and four Associate Companies – the most exciting talents working in dance today. 

 

Sadler’s Wells nurtures the next generation of talent through a range of artist development initiatives and reaches over 30,000 annually through our learning and engagement programmes.

 

Located in Islington, north London, Sadler’s Wells’ current building is the sixth to have stood on site since entrepreneur Richard Sadler first established the theatre in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera having all started at Sadler's Wells.

 

Sadler’s Wells is to open an additional mid-scale venue in east London in 2022. The new space will be at the heart of the East Bank project, a new cultural and education district in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, which will also include BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL and the V&A in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. As well as a 550-seat auditorium, our new venue will include a choreographic centre and a hip hop theatre academy, the first of their kind in the world to be run by a theatre.

www.sadlerswells.com

 

About Christopher Matthews

Christopher Matthews is an American-born choreographer and performance artist working from London. He holds a BFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts and an MA in Choreography from Trinity Laban. His video and performance works have been presented in Art Night 2018, Victoria & Albert Museum, Enclave Gallery, Arbyte Gallery, ]performance space[, LimaZulu, 4BID Gallery (Amsterdam), Mount Florida Gallery (Glasgow), Castlefield Gallery (Manchester), Millennium (NYC) Reykjavik Dance Festival, Cent Quatre (Paris), MCLA Gallery 51 (Mass) Villa Empain (Brussels) and Loop Video Art Festival (Barcelona). His dance works have been performed in NYC, Guatemala, Germany, Taiwan, Spain, London and Edinburgh. Christopher’s “Untitled Video Portrait (radio edit)” took 1st Prize at the Choreographic Captures Competition and his films have been in distribution across cinemas in Germany and Switzerland. 

 

Matthews was a judge and contemporary choreographer on the popular Angolan dance reality series Bounce. He has been a featured contestant on various reality shows in the USA and UK. He has choreographed and directed music videos for Erickatoure Aviance and Angolan artist Coreon Du.

 

Christopher was South East Dance / Brighton Digital Festival (BDF) artist 2019. He was CreativeWorks London Entrepreneur in Residence with Roehampton University in 2012 and Dance Artist in Residence at the Southbank Centre and completed a residency in Zagreb through Wild Card Jardin D’Europe Award.

 

formed view is an agreement, open collective or framework Christopher usually works in. As the artist, Christopher shapes the experience for the visitor, but feels it is a choreography that involves other artists and the visitor in order for the work to be performed. formed view is a way for Christopher to acknowledge that contract and not claim sole responsibility and/or credit for the work present under this name.

www.formedview.com