A TRANSFORMATIVE WEBBING___ Collaboration with Marlen Pflueger, inspired by the book Women that run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés; an unapologetic diary to the mothering of feminine structures, in all its malleability and discourse.

Our initial idea was to create acts of renewal and softness that are explored in conjunction with physical malleability through movement, textures and representations in space.
We use imagery and a cross-pollination of references to connect to each other and viewer alike_ How can we express our needs to remain connected to land while living in urban spaces and how this can inform our sense of freedom amongst other questions of gender, hierarchy and conservation?

Currently made up of several interwoven practices : improvisation, somatic workshops, performance research, material collecting and scenography development, documenting on film (use of camera as extension of gaze) and the reimagining traditional ‘women’s crafts’ and weavings.

Previous support:

PARTS Summer Studios (Brussels, Belgium) July 2022
AdLib LIBITUM Residency (Gaume, Belgium)June 2023
FieldWorks Dance (London, UK) November 2023

(Above) Why Don't you Love ME? Research film.

WORKSHOPS/COMMUNICATION



"Marlen and India are happy to share their tools for self discovery, choreographic scores and imagery...

- Working with the gaze - how we see each other, malleability of care.
- Creating a safe environment to speak about experiences of Gender, Femininity and refuge.
- How we can care for each other whilst deepening our sensitivity with ourselves.


Rough Outline for Workshops

Morning..

Somatic Practices & Rituals:

- Marlen will share aspects of "Pleasure Body" work (based on Body Mind Centering)
- India will share aspects of Feldenkrais, and past project 'SpongeSkins' to work with overlapping surrounding matter and body.

Afternoon Themes..

- How we take up space unapologetically and through intuition express nuances in the body.
- Sharing stories with each other through words and movement.
- Forms of abstraction and renewal
- Being queer in Nature: a summary
(site specific and in studio)

Potential meal planning..
Connection with local resources and identifying patterns of growth.

INTUITIVE CROCHET PRACTICE


In sentiment with Donna Haraway's words given at a talk 'Donna Haraway, “Making Oddkin: Story Telling for Earthly Survival”' at Yale University: 'We need to be cultivating the arts on a damaged planet'

We found through the nursing of this practice - gathering strings and interweaving textures (in various states of 'synthetic or natural consistency) we could observe and share observations from our lives and bodies in a way which opened the capacity of sharing with others. For example, through knitting and crochet we have been able to communicate with people from different generations, and nationalities - most recently with our aunties, grandmothers or mothers, ideas surrounding gender, abortion, sexuality and mental health.
Our creations have been used in our set design (most recently at DO Festival, Gdansk) and as performative research.

'We can live in a thick pressence, not an instanious pressence' whilst speaking about the notion of addressing those who historically came before us (our ancestors) as we cannot address those who will come after us.

'A THICK NOW. We are taking care of human and non-human for partial healing and flourishing.' This is the essence and intention of Pussy Willow, as we are not aiming to create a remedy for all violence, but instead create underscoores, trappings of clarity and freedom to dislose vwhat has been kept as burdens, in our bodies and.through disembodying societal constructs.

Furthermore this idea Haraway claims as 'String Figures' or a varry on Cat's craddle 'SF' passing on of knowledge and reclaiming of'patterns that can fail' patterns that can be allowed to tangle, overlap and ache in all tangents of need.
In this regard we can all inherited patterns to be dropped, or transformed through relation to new matter (old or new).







We would like to expand this practice with others and broaden the horizons for relations with matter, body and the external gaze.

WILD BUT ALSO SENSITIVE

spaces of representation and sensation

Deeply rooted with flexible antenna

Pussy Willows have deep spreading roots that can become invasive if planted in the wrong place. (Badget, 2011).

stranded, we move our bodies

Watch each other ,

Watch each other

Softening into uncivilised songs

taking up space, giving space

deepening and uncompromised

https://vimeo.com/772392484/92891ccafe

Premiere at the Albatross Theatre, Sweden 2022

Relations matter and inhabit the troubled contact zones, decompose in order to strengthen the living on a damaged planet..