A BODY OF RELATIONS

Life Class: Gregynog, Powys

Life class workshop performance on 17th April 2008 with PhD researchers from across the UK at Gregynog, Powys. The workshop explores the trope of the laughing and pointing salon portrait by Quentin De La Tour “L’auteur qui rit” (1737), in an attempt to question the dynamics between the artist and their model, and the artist and their ‘self’.

Part of a WIRAD event, a collaboration between Newport School of Art, Media and Design, North Wales School of Art & Design, Wrexham and University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. Supported by Arts and Humanities Research Council. Thanks to David Smith and Alec Shepley. Photo credit: Eva Bartussek.

‘Techniques of the Observer’ - video 35min, 20sec loop. Edited footage of "Life Class: Gregynog, Powys" performance documentation from the viewpoint of the life model. The viewpoint depicts the actions of a drawer, a photographer and a video maker as they observe from the life model. Drawings made from the performance are interspersed throughout the narrative for every click or activation of a camera. The artwork mixes the realities of the drawing and the video documentation, from event to post-production in the studio.