Sprezzaturra

William Hutt epitomised the very best sort of sprezzaturra. It’s a concept from Castigloone’s 1528 Book of the Courtier, just in case you don’t immediately know what I’m talking about. William; had, of course, more-than-mastery of arms. He had enormous physical strength. And his dainty dancing was always an absolute joy to behold. Since Will was ...

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A Siberian post mortem

Nurse gives meds to prisoner behind bars in TB prison. The open mouth is to check the meds were swallowed. Image: Nachtwey. https://prisonphotography.org/tag/tuberculosis/
“Do you work in Humanitarian Aid?” the man asked.I’d just finished my weekly swim and was waiting for my hair to dry. After all, when it’s minus 29ºCentigrade, you don't go outside with a wet head, even if you have got a cosy Russian fur hat.Yes,” I answered. He was staring at me. “Do you ...

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Catching a hawk

Every week, a Harris hawk flies over the shopping centre where I live, to stop the pigeons pooping on the shoppers.  If I hear the jingle of the bells, I go down to chat to the falconer, and greet the splendid bird – who flies much more and much more freely than birds in aviaries. …

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The sound of fear

Roberto Rusconi from Intrasonus asked me to write a about the sound of fear. Here’s my submission:  It’s just after New Year.Yorkshire is blanketed in snowSmothered in silence.Outside, there’s the squeak creak squeak creak of walking on fresh snow. As we get out onto the moors, the silence somehow gets louder, wider, huge-er. In between …

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Listen to, and hear, dying people

What can you do for someone who’s dying? Often what people need is simpleOf course, everyone’s different. Perhaps especially when they’re dying. But the fact that there’s no one simple right answer gives the biggest and best clue.It underlines just how important it is to carefully listen to and hear – rather than simply assuming …

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Needs Must

white text: abortion is healthcare not a crime, over a picture of a woman in a blue short sleeve shirt standing in front of railings and mural in a street

I wrote this for an American publication just as the anti-abortionists started getting really active. The title was changed to: Desperate Measures. The article was picked up by the Kevin MD blog. I asked to be anonymous simply to underline the deadly dangers clinicians face in the US if they take part in abortions but unfortunately …

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Tap dancing with your dentist?

Musicality at the dentist? Bet you weren’t expecting that! But at the Heads Up exhibition opening tonight, thats exactly what I saw!Dr Christina Lovey – the tap dance adviser / choreographer for my climate justice pantomime – is the artist. She and Dr Sasha Scambler identified key themes and rhythmic patterns in the speech of …

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The Blind Cloning the Blind

This is my spoof of The Blind leading the Blind by Breughel (1584). It’s a visual joke I submitted to Insight: an exhibition showing the work of visually impaired artists, organised by some MA Curation students at Leeds Art University.  Breughel’s painting ostensibly responds to the Matthew 5:14 parable. It has been described as showing …

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The Giant Green Canary: R&D

This proposal is for R&D to develop my climate justice pantomime for full performance in 2020. It: Builds on my previous digital / video / multimedia work; Challenges silos within disability art by involving only/both visually and hearing impaired performers; Makes access part of the art by using a range of ‘languages’ including BSL, audio …

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