Live Art Ireland
Results – Fluid bodies 001
Alex Billingham
27/05/23
What form does survival take when it begins from a position outside of the cis white male?
How does trans survival taste?
When you add in a dash of Neuro spicy?
Where can Crip survival form itself in safety?
I began with a picture of a brightly painted arctic survival shelter and the ground beneath my limbs. A body of my own to bruise and batter and break upon the land.
Moving to an unsure footing.
Unsure of foot
Unsure of limb
As we stagger to topple, pulling from the earth.
I rediscover how my body can move and relate to the world we live in. Dance / disabled movement is a rich ground. Finding different ways of dancing / surviving / breathing is natural for life.
Awkward and eloquent mixed
And mixed
And muddied in the water.
It’s in the undergrowth we dwell, amongst the moss and lichen.
I’m changing / growing into myself and having this time to breath with my body has been healing.
Reforming ideas of rest and recovery as forms of resistance. By my nature the act of existing is a political act. Breathing should not be political but here we are. Simply by resisting the pull of ever forward I make a protest.
Bio
Alex Billingham works across Live art / Theatre / Film & Visual arts. Based in the West Midlands they’ve performed nationally and exhibited internationally.
Survival and ideas of sustainability underpin most of their work. With interests in Crip movement / Nuclear heritage / Vintage sci fi flavoring their work.
They’re currently on a summer of residencies exploring the idea of Fluid Bodies with an exhibition at Brewery Tap Folkestone to pull together the initial research. Their work has been acquired by The New Art Gallery Walsall with a major due show in 2024.
They have performed for Tate St Ives / Curious arts Newcastle / Birmingham Weekender amongst others.
For more information visit https://alexbillingham.co.uk/
