Illustration Performances

I am a permanent resident at Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio, where I am exploring how to expand my illustration practice with the help of creative technologies. I use illustration as a tool to support physical and virtual stage events, through approaches such as projection, animation and live streaming. In this way I am hoping to contribute in raising the profile of the illustration practice within the live art sector. I believe that this model, not rooted in classical theatre performance but taking inspiration from the traditional French “concerts dessinés” (drawn concerts), has a role to play on stage. Collaborating with performers, theatre makers, animators, musicians… is an opportunity for me to bring magic through interactive visual stage experiences.

LIFELINES EXHIBITION: RETHINKING AGEING

As part of the Lifelines exhibition, I collaborated with director and producer Reuben Armstrong who incorporated my cartoons as animations within his short film. See the movie and more information about the exhibition here.

STORIES IN SOUNDS

I collaborated with the British chamber music ensemble Berkeley Ensemble for their R&D project Stories in Sounds. Together with composer and educator Neil Valentine, we visited primary schools in Hampshire, Surrey, and London to perform the show. During the show, children learn how music can inspire ideas and storytelling. Creating their own characters, plot and story arc inspired by the music, I draw live and turn their ideas into cartoons as their story materialises before their eyes. More info soon.

GREENBELT 2.0

A collaboration with the Green Future Associates and Reuben Armstrong, where my live illustrations and cartoons were animated for integration in the movie of this experimental project about rethinking the Greenbelt around Bristol. More info here.

MIDSUMMER MAGIC

A live illustrated performance for Bristol music venue St George’s.

More information here.

LIVE DRAWN STAGES

Live Drawn Stages is a R&D project gratefully supported by Visual Arts South West as well as Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio. Taking from the learnings of previous project Live Illustration Expanded (see below), I partnered with Bristol-based performer Tom Marshman to live illustrate on stage two of his existing projects: Butterflies & Dinner Ladies and Clause 28. This time I had the opportunity to create live drawn sets on “real” stages, two of Bristol’s landmark venues: St George’s and Ashton Court’s Arts Mansion. It was fascinating to experiment with symbolic texts and explore how live drawings can extend the metaphor to create a magical atmosphere. Read more about this project on Watershed’s blog.

DRAWING ON THE SHARD

Live illustration performance for Great Ormond Street Hospital’s private launch for their new forthcoming campaign. More information here.

Photo credits @Ash Knotek

LIVE ILLUSTRATION EXPANDED

Live Illustration Expanded is a R&D project gratefully supported by Arts Council England DYCP grant that took place between April and October 2021. Through this project I wanted to make an ambitious shift in my ability to produce and support physical and virtual stage events with live drawings with the help of projection mapping and live streaming. As a live illustrator, I have always felt that there is an under-explored potential in how live illustration can transform physical and virtual environments, and be a performance in its own right. I explored this through two prototype collaborative performances, one physical and one virtual. I am lucky to be surrounded by the fabulous team at Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol and the following brilliant collaborators:

Lawrence Hoo, poet

Xavier Velastín, sound artist

Limbic Cinema, multimedia design studio

Toby Harris, creative technologist

Photography © Khali Ackford

More info here.

NIGHT OF IDEAS

Live illustration performance for the French Institute event La Nuit Des Idées.