Stilled
2008 – 2015
An improvised dance performance lasting between 3 and 12 hours, that takes place within a growing exhibition of pinhole photographs
Stilled London 2012 photo by Matthew Andrews
Inspired by the scientific process of X-ray crystallography, Stilled is an improvised dance and an exhibition of pinhole photographs.
The dance is performed not only for a human audience, but also for an audience of pinhole cameras. During the performance, these cameras take long-exposure photographs of the movements taking place, which are developed and then displayed as part of the event. In Stilled, the audience witnesses the performance taking place, and they see the strange, often abstract images that bear witness to earlier improvisations.
Stilled is a meditation on the nature of perception: of taking time to become visible, taking time to be present, taking time to look, and taking time to see.
Alongside the dance is a live, improvised music score and live lighting design. The dance, the cameras, the music and the light improvise with and around each other as the piece unfolds and you’re free to come and go, spending as little or as much time with the piece as you want.
Stilled London 2012 photo by Matthew Andrews
What do you have to do, to be seen?
Stilled London 2012 photo by Matthew Andrews
Meet the Team
Design, Direction, Photography: David Harradine
Design, Production Management: Ali Beale
Lighting Design: Hansjörg Schmidt
Lighting & Music Operation: Charles Webber
Music: Jamie McCarthy
Darkroom Processing: Sam Butler
Performers: Laura Cubitt, Matthew Morris, Petra
Söör, Robin Dingemans, Sachi Kimura, Theo Clinkard, Valentina Formenti
Commissioned by
Wellcome Collection
With Additional Financial Support from
Wellcome (The Wellcome Trust)
Produced by
Fevered Sleep in association with Fuel