Yesterday I presented my initial thoughts and experiments with illustrating and drawing dance at the conference New Materialisms IV: Movement, Aesthetics, Ontology held here in Turku (always very convenient when interesting conferences are held in your own home town). I got some very helpful and inspiring comments from the session (Material processes, artistic practices) participants. A big thanks for this, if any of you happen to come by this post. I have a lot of food for thought now. The organizers had also done a very good job with the conference. It’ll be interesting to see how the conference series develops.
I think one of the bigger themes of the conference was to discuss what makes new materialism new, and I heard many interesting comments on this. It was also valuable for me to get more experience and information about artistic research practices: an area of practice that I find both fascinating and provoking. But anything that is provoking is also alive and developing and interesting.
I’m not sure what direction my drawing dance-project will take after this, but it will probably keep ricocheting between art and research. Hopefully I will find a target somewhere in between that is fruitful.
Jenny Wiik 