Gabriella and Silvana have been collaborating since 2001 when the sisters were studying drawing at the Victorian College of Arts. They are best known for their video art works involving props, dance, gestural “mirroring” sequences influenced by historical drawing techniques.
All our relations – what is interesting to
you about the theme of the 18th Biennale of Sydney?
The theme
works on so many layers, as artists it talks not only about relationship
between artist/ artist but artist/curator and also artist /audience. The title
generates an exciting energy that relates to the sharing of art through
experience and thoughts that manifest and continue to grow into other forms of
expression; conversation.
An early memory of an artist, an exhibition or
a work that was influential?
Seeing a
Rebecca Horn video titled Pencil Mask
was a defining moment and steered us into working in video.
Horn’s
exploration between the equilibrium of space and the body, and in particular her
use of sculptural body extensions gave us a new stimulus to push drawing into
new sphere. Keeping Pencil Mask in
mind we made our first video Drawing 1.
Tell me about one of
your early works featured in the terrific Monash survey exhibition of your work
in 2009?
Endless End is one of the works we showed at the Monash
Exhibition. This piece embodies our relationship and our working processes.
It suggests
a dialogue between the two of us; one as performer and the other as camera
operator. It operates in unison, a silent conversation that displays our
intuitive approach to making work; the symmetry of panning of the lens and the
movement of the body.
The video
was filmed in a darkened room. The person behind the camera had no perception
of where the other body was until the moment when the window shutters let light
into the room.
We were
also influenced by the documentation of many early performance artists such as
Marina Abramović and Ulay Laysiepen.
In some
ways we take the same principles of live performances when filming. Our
approach is one that is not hugely rehearsed as we prefer to let the conditions
of the space influence our movements while still keeping in mind the concept of
the work.
Tell me about your heritage and something of
the key cultural influences that have shaped your work. Dancing, gestures and
body, language and rituals for example?
We come
from a Sicilian heritage both our parents were born in the east coast of
Sicily. There is a strong tradition of
folk tales and oral storytelling that is past down from generation to
generation. The richness of these tales always formed strong imagery. We grew
up watching many Italian films, unlike our parents who understood both Italian
and Sicilian, as children we only understood the Sicilian dialect (not much help
when viewing Italian films).
We
watched these films (mostly black and white), only grasping the basics;
observing facial expressions, gestures and movement. The intense contrast
imagery in foreign spaces and places was mesmerizing to watch. I think
subconsciously these elements have influenced the way we work today.
Your two Biennale
projects, between near and far and neon how has your earlier work/early influences
informed these two projects?
Between near and far was influenced by our earlier video if…so.. then.
Part of the process behind creating Between
near and far was to contrast the spatial architectural limitations of if…
so… then.
It was also our first attempt at using
the open landscape as our studio. We were interested in challenging ideas
of drawing/object, space /time body/relationship. Working in an open landscape
allowed elements of play that would never exist in our own studio. We used the
natural elements such as the wind to direct the movement of the piece.
Our video works have progressed from
using purely movement to more sculptural interactions that activate space.
The use of objects whether they are the
strips of paper in Between near and far or the colour paper object of Neon
are instruments of measurement between the relationships of one body to the
other. They are interruptions of space.
Neon was
visually influenced from Atsuko Tanaka’s Electric Dress. The
piece comes back to staging a performance in our studio space.
Neon really exemplifies the transition from drawing to sculpture in our video
performances. We wanted to relay the sensibility of intimate physical space and
also personal distance space though the use of sculpture.
This was the first video we filmed in
colour. Instinctively we have always filmed in black and white; I think this is
a reflection of our past drawing practices where we both mainly used lead
pencils or charcoal.
We tend to rely on simple methods of
documenting and minimal technologies. Our videos really come into light through
our editing processes.
We are self-taught and we prefer to
perform, film and edit on our own. It has been a long rewarding process
starting with no skills but with every project we have gained new knowledge.
The methodology of working this way in a
sense comes back to our drawing practices. Drawing is a very private exercise
and we create our videos in the same manner.
Where: Wednesday 27 June- Sunday 16 September, 2012, Museum of Contemporary Art, as part of 18th Biennale of Sydney, all our relations.
No comments:
Post a Comment