Revealing all
Virginia Baxter: Brian Lucas
Brian Lucas
photo Tim Page
Brian Lucas
I suspect that the secret of the universe may very well be that each of us is and has a body different from and the same as every other and our task is to comprehend this complex truth. Brian Lucas prepares the way for us in his the book of revelation(s). Performing naked, Lucas uses movement, text, dance and sound to reflect on the idea that “every living body is an ongoing process of discovery and revelation…It’s about “how we write ourselves and read the bodies of others”, he says.
If there’s one thing a naked performing body needs it’s an enveloping structure and to cover himself, Lucas calls on his favourite filmmaker, Peter Greenaway. framing all of the personal material within the context of a number: 10 key words, 10 gestures, 10 key dance movements, 10 costume pieces and the opening lines from 10 of his favourite books.
Like all the best performance work, the book of revelation(s) has grown from an ongoing collaboration, here between Brian Lucas and sound artist Brett Collery. It has evolved in its own sweet way through a number of work-in-progress showings towards this full-scale version which will be staged in an exclusive 3-night season at Brisbane Powerhouse 15-18 December. In the course of its development, Brian Lucas has also created another work (Monster); participated in the New Moves/New Territories choreographic laboratory in Adelaide and Glasgow; and starred and toured Australia and the USA in Chunky Move’s Tense Dave. He has also been Artist in Residence at Brisbane Powerhouse and contributed to the curation of the space’s dance program—all part of the working life of the artist’s body.
RealTime issue #64 Dec-Jan 2004 pg. 36
