manxilele@gmail.com
STAGING A PLAY
experimental‘theatre’foracurious visitor
With a focus on experimental play, this project stages ‘a play’ that utilises the components of our individual toolboxes for storytelling; assembling, collaging and stringing together new transcriptions of the spaces around us.
extractfromexhibitioncatalogue:
In times past, we spun tales huddled by the fire, watching their shadows weave unscripted plays against cave walls. And as unwitting storytellers, the ‘cave’ in our minds take on roles of ‘theatre’, ‘shelter’, and ‘mask’. Ceaselessly projecting the narratives we tell ourselves, the overlaid stories reflect the disjunction from translating between the external world and our internal conscious. ‘The Light that Hides’ chronicles the journey of an ingenuous light confronting her reality. In bringing the story into the physical realm as a portable ‘cave’ and a set of toy-like characters, the curious visitor is invited to exteriorise their internal act of untangling the tale’s threads through motions of play.
As the documentation of a story in the act of being told, this project was part of a ‘winter solstice’ exhibition titled:
https://youtu.be/h8Nb0jtNILo?si=vzrbbpUBymzBcMo_
material / motion
visual translation of a short story ‘RETURNING’ by LING MA from the BLISS MONTAGE anthology
explorations around Plato’s ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
post exhibition: a hand-bound script/ portfolio for full work see: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:9768d1a1-7efa-4f5e-b1a9-020f62b294c5
materialisations of the cave
THE TRANSLATION OF THEATRE
dramahouseonSydneyHarbour
Emerging out of the Island’s powerhouse precinct, this project understands theatre as a form of speculation that engages audiences with a traversal through alternate histories. With its focus on the notion of progression and journey, the theatre is designed around the immersive experience and that of a traverse stage.
Here, taking cues from the classical narrative of Gluck’s ‘Orfeo ed Euridice,’ the theatre complex is experienced architecturally through a series of pavilions reflecting the scenes and acts of the opera. Borrowing the pre-existing slope and length of the slipway, where the myth takes us into the underworld, this theatre descends below the structure of a pier, guiding us into the water.
The Solitary Woods
The Gates of Hades
III. outdoor theatre performance stage
V. tower gift shop exit
IV. tower stairs platform lift
The Elysian Fields
The Dark Labyrinth
The Temple of Love
visualisations / 1:200 model / hand-bound portfolio
on the slipway at Wareamah, below the pier, and between its posts, one can find the blessed-spirits of Cockatoo, amidst song and dance...
LOOKING GLASS HOUSE
livingspacefora children’sbook illustrator
Located in a skyscraperial landscape typical of the Modern City, LOOKING GLASS HOUSE is an invitation to rediscover and emphasise a childlike magic and wonderment encased behind the black rectangular bars of high-rise windows.
The persona residing here enjoys places with a playful quality; a place that does not restrict creativity nor spontaneity, while still maintaining some elements of routine. This is in part to reflect the inhabitant’s personal goals for a regular sleep schedule while realising the inevitability of late nights and early mornings here and there.
