Spaces breathing and not breathing
"Cura", group Show at Smolensky Gallery Manchester
28/11-10/12/2023
First in-person exhibition by In Transit
Curated by Celina Loh
Featuring works by Arabel Lebrusan, Charlie Fitz, Latifah A., Stranack, Mira Hirtz and Naomi Harwin
My work “Spaces breathing and not breathing" consists of two large textile prints and an audio score (sound by Sascha Jungbauer, link opens in a new page). The audio score offers a creative description of the textile prints. It offers the visitor a non-visual entry to the work, as well as an exploration of the so called proprioceptive sense. This sense is about feeling where our body is in space. I hope to engage the visitors through these multiple senses in order to create an intimate and immersive experience.
My work expresses part of my journey with chronic illness. The images and material come out of my search for rest, healing and softness but also the reality of living with pain. It offers an experience in which the visitors connect with their own bodies and reflect on how they feel, and if they have space to breath, rest and heal. As part of that, the creative audio description includes score that invites the audience to feel their own bodies.
Moving and practising with others is key in my research. I am grateful to my colleagues and friends who join me in movement and reflections.
The following photos and video show my textile print "Spaces breathing and not breathing", 2023 © Mira Hirtz
About the exhibition
Cura takes from the Latin word which means ‘to take care’ or ‘to help’. Cura showcases the work of women artists Arabel Lebrusan, Charlie Fitz, Latifah A. Stranack, Mira Hirtz and Naomi Harwin. These artists undertook In Transit’s residency where they explored how access can be a creative and intellectual consideration in their practice - moving past the checklist for meeting the needs of disabled audiences in museums and galleries.Cura brings together paintings, prints, sculptures and installations that unpack matters of care from the personal to the collective.
The artists have produced the works with creatively integrated audio descriptions and used multisensory approaches – this means beyond seeing, you can listen, touch and be a part of some of the works. Together, the artists and their works propose more caring ways of being and making.This exhibition is more than a display of art; it is a living research experiment. We invite you to be part of the process, to learn alongside us, and to help us test the effectiveness of creative access on audience
engagement.
Supported using public funding by Arts Council England
