Construct - The Body in Flux symposium
Symposium by Southampton Solent University’s Solent Stylist Collective and Performing Fashion research groups.
Date: Thursday, 28 April 2011
Location: Conference Centre, Sir James Matthews Building, Southampton Solent University, 157-187 Above Bar Street, SO14 7NN
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Have we caught up with our future bodies? What is to be one with our future bodies? How will the future effect our body politic?
An interdisciplinary summit for academics, students, thinkers, designers, bloggers, performers and practitioners, this symposium addresses the theme of “Future Bodies”.
It will explore the aesthetic appreciation of the fashioned body through its modification and performance - both as a communication tool and the body as a whole.
Current changes in technology, its impact and relationships with visual manifestations of the body are central to the theme of this one-day symposium.
Themes: Deviant bodies, makeovers and perfect surfaces, perfect bodies, transcending the body, uncovering and hiding of the body, technology and the body, body place/ space, the cosmetic body, virtual bodies, fashion/cosmetic production, language and the body, the gendered body and bodily restriction.
Keynote speakers:
Michael Burton - artist, designer and Research Associate at the Royal College of Art
Burton’s presentation will explore the relationships between science and technology, the transformation of the body and will seek to redefine what it is to be human.
Paddy Hartley - artist and curator
Hartley’s presentation will explore the manipulation, modification and reconfiguring of the body through processes of adornment.
Panel speakers and performers include:
Dr. Joanne Turney - Senior Lecturer History and Design, Bath School of Art and Design
Holestar - artist, performance artist, DJ and producer
Paul Bevan - Course Director MA Fashion Photography, London College of Fashion
Andrew Markham - performance artist, curator, and Senior Lecturer in Fashion Styling, Southampton Solent University
Alex Franklin – Senior Lecturer History and Theory of Design,Graphic Design. School of Humanities and Cultural Industries, Bath Spa University
Dr. Emile Bojesen – Lecturer in Education Studies, the University of Winchester
Audience addresses by Sharon Lloyd – Senior Lecturer in Fashion Theory and Practice Southampton Solent University and Donna Bevan – Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Media Theory, Southampton Solent University.
Preview Party
Following the symposium there will be a preview part for 5thCHARACTER (a bi-annual online e-publication) from 5-7pm, same location as the symposium.
5thCHARACTER unites an array of creative mavericks from fashion, beauty, contemporary art, illustration and design. A unique bi-annual, digital publication produced to guide, transform and address issues of the performed body and beauty culture.
This publication aims to provide an artistic arena powered by ‘avant-garde’ art direction, opinionated writers and striking photography in an interactive environment. Using embedded sound and video for a richer experience, 5thCHARACTER intends to offer a unique information vehicle for readers that is far from a traditional ‘conformist’ online periodical.
Influenced by critical discourse 5thCHARACTER will project the cosmetic appreciation of the fashioned image, through body modification, performance and communication.
For further information and to book a place at this FREE symposium and launch party email andrew.markham@solent.ac.uk.