I am excited to annouce that I will be presenting a new performance and workshop at this year's Chale Wote festival in Accra Ghana. If you are planning to go to the festival this year let me know, it would be lovely to see you there!
"Unfurl"  An exploration of tightness, release and opening up through movement, drawing and writing.
Oil bar on 3m x 3m paper. Hackney, London April 2018 arcana ɑːˈkeɪnə/Submit noun 1. secrets or mysteries. ‘Body Arcana’ is a series of large scale drawings created with my body and oil bars on paper. This series continues the exploration of my personal mythology through the Tamalpa Life Art Process following the completion of my Level 1 training at Tamalpa UK in March 2018. Loosely inspired by Heather Hansen's "Emptied Gestures' series and by the belief that ‘the body holds our entire life experience,’ each drawing begins with the question “if my body could speak, what would it say?” This question acts as a springboard for the discovery of current life lessons and resources that the body holds through movement. Each discovery is then symbolically recorded on paper. Discovery 1: "It comes from the core"  An exploration of personal power through movement, drawing and writing. Oil bar on 3m x 3m paper. Sandgate, Kent, UK March 2018 Between April 2017 to March 2018, embarked on a journey of self care. self love, deep listening, self awareness and professional development through Tamalpa UK's Level 1 training course in movement based expressive arts.
Through the course, I explored 7 body parts and discovered aspects of my hisotry and personal mythology that is housed in each of these areas. I had the invaluable experience of transitioning between movement, drawing, writing, and dialogue to unearth where i am physically, emotionally and mentally. My Final Self Portrait symbolically represents key learnings and life resources that I discovered and worked with through the course. I Shape Beauty at The Caribbean In/Securities and Creativity: Diasporic Dialogues Conference28/6/2017  Photographs by Harlem Edwin and Lesley Asare Last Sunday Indigo and I had the honour of sharing I Shape Beauty's Re-imaging of Self project at the Caribbean In/Securities and Creativity: Diasporic Dialogues Conference at The British Library in London. The "(Re)Creating Ourselves Free – poetry & performance as acts of emancipation, of self and body, for women of colour" panel was chaired by Malika Booker (poet & artist) and also featured the amazing work of Toni Stuart (poet & artist). Indigo presented an essay that provided an insight to the issues that inspired the creation of our Re-imaging of Self project; a 3-day workshop for Women of Colour that explores freedom as a daily practice through visual art, movement and poetry. Following the talk, we performed poetry and created a movement based drawing inspired by the work of Heather Hansen to reflect the mediums that workshop participants work through.  In Japan, the circle (enso) is seen as a symbol of enlightenment, strength and elegance. There were many beautiful moments that emerged from this heart-centred day; from the flow and synchronicity between both our talk and performance and the work of Toni Stuart, to the funding ideas, warm encouragement and feedback we received from those who attended.
The reminder of the power, unity and wholeness within circles is something that particularly resonated with me. We were able to shift the energy within the room by simply removing the panelist tables and by rearranging the 60 chairs that had been placed in rows for a talk into a circle, Every individual was present, seen and heard within this talk as we explored freedom and healing through art,  Inspired by Heather Hansen's Emptied Gestures pieces, I am most free when... is the first of a collection of collaborative pieces that explore what freedom looks like to Indigo Williams and I. The poetry in indigo blue acrylic paint counteracts a narrative of silencing while the black chalk symbol carves out a sacred personal space to counteract the negative belief of not being enough. The bold channel of red chalk that
flows from the top to the bottom of the piece symbolises the presence of strong, active and energising life force energy while the blue chalk marks symbolise the grounding resource that is found through connecting to the breath. I am most free when... was displayed at the Carribbean In/Securities and Creativity: Diasporic Dialogues Conference on Sunday 25th June 2017. Back in April, Indigo Williams and I worked with an amazing team of Women of Colour to create the I Shape Beauty "SHAPE" Film. The film provides an insight into what I Shape Beauty is all about.
Check it out, find out more about who we are and follow us on Instagram (@ishapebeauty) & Twitter (*ishapebeauty) and sign up to our mailing list! http://ishapebeauty.co.uk/join-our-mailing-list/ Art Director on set: @becca.human Photographer: @lifethrough_mylense Make up: @_roxy_asare Producer: @layasland & @accordingtoindie Production runner: @yvettekissi Featured in the film: Laura Kirwan-Ashman, Rebekah Ubuntu, Zoe Bere, Mamoyo, Shagufta Iqbal, Michelle Tiwo, Sarah Katende #film #filmphotography #props #moodboard #photography #knowledge#selfownership #selflove #selfcare #sisterhood #unity #love #support#portrait #photographer #photoshoot #queen #crown #melanin Who are you? Where have you been? Where are you now? Where are you going? What do you value? What do you need? Over the past 18 months I have worked as the Artist in Residence at Bedford Academy. This opportunity has enabled me to work with the Art Teachers, Y13 Fine Art students and a small group of Young Carers to explore identity and their personal experiences through Expressive Arts workshops. Young Carers workshop Through discussion, writing and expressive art making we explored what it’s like to be a Young Carer and what each student needs to be the best Young Carer they can be. The work displayed visually responds to one of the questions explored within the workshop. Abstract Portraits Inspired by self-reflection, the power that symbols hold and the importance of creating playfully, the abstract portraits symbolically reflect what each individual would be if they were to be an element, a colour, an animal, a plant/tree/flower, fruit/veg, a building, a book, an item of furniture, a time of day and a scent. This workshop aimed to create a space for each individual to connect to who they are through visual art.   "For us it is our real life experiences that feed our art, and our art that informs the real issues in our lives." - Tamalpa Institute My mum always says that everything things happens in its time and that there is a time for everything. Though it's hard to remember this at times, I wholeheartedly believe it. I begin my journey into movement based expressive arts through Tamalpa UK tomorrow. "The Tamalpa Life /Art Process ® is an internationally-recognized expressive arts approach, which combines movement, visual art, and creative writing to access the innate wisdom of the body and the transformative power of the imagination. This work supports personal, interpersonal and social change, teaching new models of health, education, psychology and art." My personal and professional experiences have been led to learn about expressive art therapy and I was drawn to Tamalpa in particular because it enabled me to explore my body and movement as well as visual art and writing as tools for self reflection and healing. I dont know where this path will lead but I'm excited to find out. Anything that allows me to align with the sea on a monthly basis has got to be good! Wish me luck!  Sandgate, Kent
 :Indigo Williams and I, and our work with I Shape Beauty was featured on True Africa amongst 12 other amazing Black British women who are doing amazing things!
Check out the link below: http://trueafrica.co/lists/13-different-black-british-women-amazing-things/ |
AuthorLesley Adjoa Yayra Asare - Artist, Maker and Facilitator Archives
November 2020
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