Cadence: The anatomy of rhythm is an exhibition of dynamic drawings and jewellery by Sarah Warsop that arrests time to capture the presence of a performance once the performer has left.
Sarah is intrigued by the transitory nature of live performance — the vitality, the energy, the memory. Through jewellery, choreography, and mark making, Sarah explores the characteristics of human movement and what is and isn’t present.
The drawings and jewellery on show have dance at their heart. Through graphite or gold, we sense the energy and intention of a live performance. Each work holds the essence of something else. The drawings distil a moment of choreographed movement and sounds into marks on the paper; whilst the jewellery transforms the ephemeral into the tangible.
The exhibition features two series of drawings and the accompanying jewellery collections. Each piece of jewellery is worked directly into precious metal and hand forged to maintain the original character of the movement held in the drawings. The rhythms, direction, speed and flow of the chorography are captured within each piece of jewellery.
In the main gallery, the series of large scale graphite drawings, What isn’t Here Hasn’t Happened, is the result of a collaboration between Sarah Warsop and Tracey Rowledge, a fine artist and bookbinder. Commissioned by the Siobhan Davies Studio in 2011, the drawings explore the duality of mark making through choreographed movement and movement through mark making. This idea of notation, of bringing an idea or performance into being, intrigues Sarah. It informs the second series of charcoal drawings on show, Body 30’57’, created whilst she was the inaugural jeweller in residence at the British Library 2012/2013. Working with the 193-page graphic music score, Treatise (1963-7) by Cornelius Cardew, Sarah used the idea of a central line, or spine, running through the original score to anchor her own physical response on paper. Eventually, moving onto five metre lengths of lining paper, she created a new set of notations used to make her jewellery pieces. A selection of sections, taken from the original drawings is displayed in the stairwell.
“Through jewellery, choreography and mark making I investigate the characteristics of human movement. In metal, on paper, in performance, on film, I strive to arrest time and reveal the intricacies of a moving body.
When choreographing I make notations from text to drive the rhythm and dynamic of the action. I work to contain these dynamic qualities within my jewellery to create wearable moments in time.
My jewellery is often designed directly from a moment of my choreography. Using a dynamic drawing process, I capture the essence of movement onto paper. From these drawings I work directly into precious metal to hold pace, flow and direction within the object.
On paper I explore how physicality and physical presence can be experienced through a drawing made by the human figure and how the mark and the body’s physical and emotional state are inseparable. Ranging from working sketches to gallery pieces, I aim for my drawings to be not a representation of movement, but the dance itself.”
sarahwarsop.com | @sarahjwarsop
Please read more about Cadence – The Anatomy of Rhythm here:
Summer 2016
