Katherine Atkinson Performs at Highlanes Gallery (2013)

In August 2013 violinist and performance artist Katherine Atkinson was  invited to respond to The LFTT exhibition Things In Translation: The Legs Foundation at Highlanes Gallery. She decided to stem her performance quite literally from the individual works themselves, enacting an intimate one-one-one engagement with the textures and forms they evoked. It was quite ‘spellbinding’!

Katherine’s work is inspired by physical theatre, using strong visual images as part of the performance. When performing the violin becomes an extension of her physical self, another part of her body as well as an extension of her voice. Inspired by physical theatre, Atkinson uses strong visual images as part of her performance, often responding to specific architectures and environments in an exploration of the boundaries between public and private space.

Katherine says of her practice “I am interested in testing performance concepts in public spaces. I am fascinated by the ways in which audiences respond to public performances, and I have researched this in both my performance work and through academic research.

The encountering of visceral experiences through the physical, sensory and emotional archaeology of an edifice is an inspiring premise. I am interested in looking at the envelope of a building, thinking about the site, ruminating over its purpose, imagining who’s been there before, and sensing who’s there now. It is fascinating to contemplate how a space may change over time, or even in a moment. Wrapped within a site, it is exciting to imagine how the space could be transformed through music and movement by responding to surfaces and textures, floors and ceilings, nooks and corners, light, dark and all shades in between, constructing a physical audio-active foundation for the building.”

Biography

Katherine Atkinson holds an MA in Public Culture Studies from Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, a Diploma in Theatre and Drama Studies from NUI, Maynooth, a Diploma in Teaching (Arts) SACAE, a Certificate of Music TAFE. She performed at the launch of The Trades Club Revival publication by Seamus Nolan in the Model, Sligo (2012), performed in ‘Tear Down The Walls’ by Project Brand New, directed by artist Geraldine Pilgrim as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival (2011). She has performed with Ann Scott, Dave Murphy, Alice Jago, Miriam Ingram and performed in ‘Sending Letters to the Sea’ a collaborative music project by Mark Garry, a Public Art Commission, FCC (2009). Katherine is a member of Visual Arts Ireland and manages Professional Development with Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts.