A short film inspired by Lamentations 5:15 – The joy of our heart has ceased; Our dance has turned into mourning.

 

This work is linked to explorations in MOTHER. MOTHER. was inspired by the birth of Christine’s son and death of her nephew. In it, she dug into joy and grief. She found through this process, a deep sense of loss– a loss of a part of herself, her identity.

 

Christine and Gillian began working together with the intention to share their body practice with one another. Sharing weekly space and time together dovetailed naturally into investigating mourning. We began by experimenting how mourning looks/manifests/feels in different body parts. Ultimately we chose the hands. Our hands can reach out and pull away. They can comfort and connect us with one another while also push away and scold. We moved, reflected and lamented on the joy in our hearts ceasing with the intention to be open to the point where mourning can become potentially ecstatic. We wondered how can a dance of mourning become transcendent.