Louise Adkins
My practice investigates the relationship between cultural, historic narrative utilizing performance, artists' film, installation, text and drawing. The appropriation and re-enactment of historic cultural events and references are an on-going theme in my work which often features synchronized dance routines, music, sporting events and film as a way of reading and understanding historic narratives. Current work is concerned with unknown or constructed histories and the documentation of historic events identified in archives, libraries and gallery, collections. The practice is responsive to situations, mainly the institutions history, location and archival information identified as part of the research process. My practice is concerned with the performative possibilities of these histories, events and moments and the narrative potential inherent in (re) visioning them. I often work with professionals, specialist interest groups and communities to develop performances utilizing their skills, knowledge and specialist histories.
I am the founder, working as artist and curator of 'Between' a programme of performance art commissions established in 2012 in association with the International3 gallery in Manchester. The ‘Between’ programme was concerned with how contemporary performance can utilize the interstitial space of the gallery programme as a creative lab for performance art practice. In 2016 I was awarded the Amanda Burton scholarship at the University of Leeds to study a PhD by practice titled: ‘Between Art and Re enactment - historical representation, the actual and the possible’ in the School of Fine Art, Art History and Cultural Studies.