Clod Ensemble (UK)
Under Glass
Under Glass is part of a larger work being developed by the Clod Ensemble at Sadler’s Wells – a cabaret of performance pieces, each within a glass cabinet or jar. Each piece features a different performer (a dancer, a performance artist or an actor), a different musical score and a distinct visual environment and movement language.
The glass containers are specially commissioned pieces, made to measure for each performer.
For NRLA we present three of the pieces we have developed so far: a woman inside an enormous container that could be seen as an oversized jam jar or a clinical specimen bottle, a two foot high vitrine with a bed of turf in which the performer does not even have room to sit up, and a large glass case containing nothing but a chair and a dancer.
Each piece is carefully lit to draw attention to the beauty of flesh and bone, and to the detail of the performers’ anatomy.
Examining ideas of claustrophobia and belonging, Under Glass is an exploration of how we can live within our limits.
Since its formation in 1995, The Clod Ensemble has created a huge range of performance projects, workshops and events. Music and movement is at the heart of all our work.
The ensemble changes from project to project. Collaborating with artists working in a wide range of media, we make performances for theatres, festivals, and galleries, as well as creating projects and curating work in places where art does not usually happen including medical schools, day care centres, and prisons.
Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells
Photographic Credit: Manuel Vason