ABOUT
My story began somewhere in Sweden. In a forest.
My family were integrated within the shifting narrative of living and working within a circus company.
It presented me with a complex and physically rich environment. It laid the foundation which later grew into where I find myself today.
The process of moving all the time from one geographical place to another meant I found continuity through my physical exploration and the interactions with the environment. In other words, play.
a look at the practice
I was exposed to the possibilities and freedom which the world of acrobatics presents. Like a gravitational pull. First, an instinctual fascination but later a realisation emerging that seemed to allow for a less confined exploration of what was physically possible.
“Somehow, I created an analogy between physical ability and freedom.”
Through this pursuit other practices and interactions towards different art forms appeared. These gave direction and clues, in mapping out a type of hybrid practice which later came to inform what I do now.
Any child will gravitate towards play, but the key difference here is that the playground was constantly changing. Like being given a new sheet of paper every two weeks.
I needed a reference point. The deeply physical interaction to a changing playground offered this possibility. It provided an anchor.
“So, even though everything keeps changing, at least I can still play/practice.”
At some point a shift occurred. I stood back and began to understand a potential where the thing I was now doing might no longer be outside of myself but could become the very essence of what I am and what I practice.
This is what my practice seems to have become. Something constant which I carry with me.
The pulse of pursuing a practice.
By pulse I mean it's like a metronome but that’s not right as a metronome follows the given rhythm and doesn’t change. The pulse refers to the heartbeat. It is literally needed to transport blood through your system, to transport energy.
Without it you die. Practice becomes pulse. It might seem dramatic.
It is your life-force. It means your fingers move. You can breathe.
At times it quiets down, becoming subtle, playing in the background, whilst at others it builds in volume and frequency.
Drawing by Peter Reynolds
