Art And Media Education Major 2023 Aalto University
Minna Suoniemi
In the context of rehearsals with body movement and performative approach. Each student has a large paper of the size of their body taped on the floor. We warm up by feeling the body’s structure: first the bones, then the muscles, then the skin. After the warmup, we invite the students to close their eyes and start to draw their body with their eyes closed, eventually the body with their eyes closed.
This experience enables the students to rethink collective performance without a strong sense of performing while concentrating on drawing. Drawing with eyes closed based on haptic sensations also enables the students to relearn their use of pencils but relying on their perception by touch.
The drawing goes on for about an hour, creating a shared space of concentration, and simultaneously a performative choreography of bodies on papers. After finishing, the students take a moment to try and trace the body parts and outlines based on the map-like drawing. They can write notes on the drawing. In the end, we look at each map of the body and talk about the embodied experience.
