EH*V welcomed 67 new Interns to our collective who are all working on a theme or topic close to their hearts this Summer. One such group is the EH*V Arts Intern Team whose work will shed light on myriad artistic mediums and genres. Every Monday, the team will share their recommendations in their genre for the this week. Please get in touch if you'd like to get involved!
Brittany EH*V Dance
My recommendation for this week is the dance film Rosas danst Rosas by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, which was brought into widespread public consciousness in 2011 when Beyoncé was accused of appropriating the work in her ‘Countdown’ music video. Performed by four female dancers, the work is highly evocative, thought provoking and suspenseful, and the synchronicity of the dancers’ movements is mesmerising. One definitely not to be missed!
“In 1983, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker had her international breakthrough with Rosas danst Rosas, a performance that has since become a benchmark in the history of postmodern dance. Rosas danst Rosas builds on the minimalism initiated in Fase (1982): abstract movements constitute the basis of a layered choreographic structure in which repetition plays the lead role. The fierceness of these movements is countered by small everyday gestures. Rosas danst Rosas is unequivocally feminine: four female dancers dance themselves, again and again. The exhaustion and perseverance that come with it create an emotional tension that contrasts sharply with the rigorous structure of the choreography. The repetitive, “maximalistic” music by Thierry De Mey and Peter Vermeersch was created concurrently with the choreography.”
More information – https://www.rosas.be/en/productions/378-rosas-danst-rosas
About Brittany - Having initially studied modern languages at university, I decided to retrain as a community dance artist and am now mid-way through my postgraduate diploma at Trinity Laban Conservatoire for music and dance, specialising in inclusive community practice. I am also training to teach English as a foreign language and volunteering as a content creator for the Girls Friendly Society.
Emma - EH*V Art
JODI, http://wwwwwwwww.Jodi.org/ 1995
This week I am recommending everyone to explore the topic of ‘Net Art’. During lockdown the majority of our social interactions were confined to our computer screens and online platforms, such as ‘zoom’, have become integral to the survival of most businesses (or the essential pub quiz). So what could be more appropriate than to become familiar with the field of art that resides solely within the rhizome space? You won’t find any ‘Net Art’ hanging on a gallery wall, it was made to live on our screens.
‘JODI’ is my personal favourite prank to play on friends who aren’t familiar with the work. She is every tech owning individual’s worst nightmare - the aesthetic of a serious, computer-crashing virus. Just type in http://wwwwwwwww.Jodi.org/ and you will find that your entire screen is suddenly screaming at you [stay calm and click through her different sections]. But this is not a virus but one of the earliest pieces of ‘Net Art’. The birthplace of the hacker aesthetic and the drawing back of the curtain to reveal the complex code behind our slick screens.
About Emma: I am a multimedia artist studying Fine Art and History of Art at the University of Edinburgh. I work predominantly in installation and through the amalgamation of visual imagery and sound I explore the fluctuant nature of sexuality, identity, gender roles and mental health. I also run alongside three other Edinburgh students ‘Conference for Change’ which is an annual conference dedicated to discussing a pervasive social issue based in Edinburgh.
Alice - EH*V Theatre
This week, I am recommending any and all of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s plays. She is a British Sikh playwright from Watford. Her play ‘Behzti’ (Dishonour) was cancelled by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre after violent protests by Sikhs against the play, and death threats forced Bhatti to go into hiding. Her writing is electric and uncomfortable. Her recent play ‘A Kind of People’, produced by the Royal Court, was astounding:
Photo by Manuel Harlan
About Alice: Having completed an English Literature degree at university, I am currently training on the MFA Theatre Directing course at Birkbeck. I am about to start an assistant directing placement at Birmingham Rep. At the moment, I am part of the Painkiller Director Pool and the New Normal/ New Writing Festival 2020.
Maya - EH*V Audio
This week my recommendation is pre-emptive. ‘Illusions’ from the theatre company Concentric Circles will premiere online on the 1st August. The play features an all-female* cast of British and Hungarian actors, and its open rehearsal is freely available on YouTube. Its plot follows the marriages of two couples, exploring love, death, and meaning which we bestow upon our lives, all from female perspectives. The premiere will be followed by discussions with the creative team, and ‘Live Rehearsal #1’ is linked below.
About Maya: I have just graduated from senior school and am due to begin a Drama foundation-year course at Fontainebleau School of Acting in September. I later hope to study Anthropology at university, but more recently have been volunteering at my local hospital radio station, and working at an Amazon depot.
Sanaa - EH*V Film
This week I want to recommend the award-winning independent film “Tomboy” directed by French female director, Céline Sciamma. The movie is about Laura, a young girl who moves to a new town with her family. After arriving, she meets a girl in her building who takes her for a boy. Laura does not correct her but instead introduces herself as Mikaël. However, the first day of school is approaching and Mikaël’s friends are beginning to question his identity and sexuality.
About Sanaa: I’m a 3rd year undergraduate, studying Arabic & Spanish at Oxford. I was born in Paris and raised in France, Mexico and Uruguay. I love travelling, cinema, theatre, literature and music. I was lucky enough to start acting professionally at the age of six and have been keeping it up ever since. You can spot me in the new Netflix series “Caliphate” where I speak in bad Swedish and cry my eyes out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my movie recommendations as much as I enjoy making them !
Jess - EH*V Music
This week I recommend everyone listen to Taylor Swift’s new album, folklore. Ever since her earliest releases, gossip about Swift’s romantic relationships, celeb feuds, and recently the battle with her former record label have warped public perception of her, something that is 100% magnified because she is a young woman. She released folklore on Friday with no pre-release promotion, and the result is that the focus is entirely on the music. Folklore is an album full of beautiful stories, written during lockdown and mostly fuelled by her imagination. My top tip would be to listen in a candlelit room or on a walk through a forest if u have one nearby. Also highly recommend watching her Netflix documentary if you’d like to know more about her career.
About Jess: I studied English at Oxford and graduated in 2018. I now live in London and work at a music PR company & and am a pop artist myself, gigging and releasing music as Jess Fitz. At Oxford I sang in all woman* a cappella group The Oxford Belles and also founded all woman* student band Sisters of Funk. I continue to champion women* in my band and creative team today. @jessfitzmusic
Rosie EH*V Theatre and Film
My recommendation for the week is “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”, a beautiful French film about the queerness inherent in desire. It tells the story of queer passion through the medium of portraiture, demonstrating the pleasure that can be taken in the artistic process and particularly sharing that creativity with another. Using film to portray the multifaceted nature of portraiture is fascinating and the cinematography was stunning but the most interesting thing about it was the way it portrayed women. All but one character is female and the female form dominates the narrative and yet the story is totally dominated by the pervasive presence of the patriarchy. This film tells a story of women who are trapped by their gender roles and exercise whatever freedom they have through their passionate love affair. Here is a fantastic review of the film which can be found on MUBI
About Rosie: I studied Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford and am currently doing an MA in Arabic and Near and Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS specialising in gender and diaspora studies. During my undergraduate I was the President of the Oxford Alternotives, a mixed a capella group and acted, choreographed and directed a variety of theatrical productions. If I had to choose an artform it would be theatre but also I love them all!
Josie EH*V Visual Art:
Art Recommendation : Mimi Parent - forgotten surrealist artist.
Mimi Parent was a Canadian surrealist artist working at the heart of the movement in 1960s Paris, surrounded by famed male figures like Andre Breton and Marcel Duchamp. She was married to surrealist Jean Benoît, her work using human hair (some of the first ever seen) was featured on the posters for the major international “Eros” exhibition, and she created their infamous “Boite Alerte - Missives Lascives” exhibition catalogue, yet this idea has been widely attributed to Duchamp - Parent’s name is almost never raised in discussions of the surrealist movement. Her core work, boxes and paintings filled with dreamlike, spiritual, and symbolic imagery, shows some of the greatest examples of surrealist thought and technique, and has a truly unique and absorbing atmosphere, yet we never hear of it. She has been almost entirely erased from the movement. This week, I recommend taking a look at some of the beautiful and deeply interesting work she created!
About Josie: I am a second year at Oxford and a huge art lover. With EH*V, I am interested in learning about and promoting the work of forgotten or unheard women* artists throughout history, as well as highlighting contemporary talent.