Amy Leung,

Artisit / Gallery Educator

Matter Transforming Bodies Transforming Matter

A hanging silver tassel tickles a nose.
Bamboo sticks become extensions of limbs.
They sink into blobs of plasticine.
An alien and a monster flower emerge from the blobs.
Someone finds a hidden bag of confetti and it scatters in the air.
Children wrap, hide and enmesh themselves within shiny space blankets.
Matter and bodies entangle in playing, making and becoming.

As an artist working in schools, museums and galleries, I am interested in the materiality of stuff. Working weekly with Supersmashers - an art and play group at South London Gallery - we explored a set of materials in a family half-term workshop. This installation includes documentation of the live action research, taken by both adults and Supersmashers, and records of my explorations in the studio. The film combines these material investigations, blurring who might be learning from who, in a reciprocal dance between material, children, space and myself. Attempting to capture dynamic rapid movement, the documentation presents a non-promotional, participant perspective of a gallery workshop.  A soundscape captures up-close the materials I work with in my practice and takes cue from ASMR[1] footage. The vitality of matter, alive in sound, attempts to connect with the viewer's body. Floor based pieces act as stand-ins for familiar objects to my art and play facilitation: tarpaulin, an IKEA mat, tuff spots. As with the materials, these silent but vibrant participants all confer and contribute to our experiences of learning.

If a workshop is considered an 'assemblage' (Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, 1987), in which all matter is connected and vibrant, what 'lines of flight' (ibid) or new possibilities might arise from this? I hope to continue researching into how matter collaborates with bodies, turning our attention to the almost imperceivable ways in which stuff affects us. Please feel free to sit down, touch materials and explore the space.

[1] *Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response: a sensation that moves through the body in response to certain audio, visual or tactile stimuli.