Body memory

Students and tutors from the School of Fine Art at DJCAD recently participated in an international collaborative research project on the theme of leibgedächtnis (body memory).

The practice-led visual art exchange linked DJCAD with students and tutors from the Art Academy Warsaw, Poland and the Art College Burg Giebichenstein / Halle, Germany. The project examined articulations of the body and how they are culturally perceived.

Elaine Shemilt, Reader in Fine Art, explained, "Biological functions, physiological processes, sensations and desires, all leave their traces on and in the body - like imprints.

Through our embodied existence in time and space, our lived experiences accumulate in and on the body, forming layers of engravings, resonances and interferences."

The resulting work by students and their tutors was exhibited in an international group show in the main gallery of the prestigious Art Academy of Warsaw. The show was well received by both the Polish hosts and the Warsaw public and was featured on Polish national television.

Dr Kerstin Mey added, "The students found the experience very stimulating, and it gave them invaluable insights into staging an exhibition in a foreign country, mastering language barriers and cultural differences."

The diverse aesthetic interpretations of the Body Memory theme have led to an ongoing critical discussion between the participating groups.

The outcome of this will be on display in at least two further exhibitions to be held in Potsdam, Germany, later this month, and in the Cooper Gallery, DJCAD, in August / September 2004.

Through devising a best practice model, the Scottish students intend to communicate their experience to other students who may want to initiate similar cross-cultural art projects.