11/10/2012
The Flying Mothers of Archway, is a project in collaboration with a group of mothers who come from
different corners of the world, and are linked to Archway Children's Centre and Hargrave Park School.
Together we are embarking on a journey - exploring what brought these women to London and their feelings
about living in Archway through aerial yoga, video, and physical theatre.
18/10/2012
Great meeting tonight amongst the artists working on the different Hostings commissions. Stimulating and
insightful. We share similar hopes and concerns.
20/10/2012
Met Germander on the bus by chance. Her Hostings project deals with unwanted and discarded objects. While my
project deals with very treasured objects that people have kept in their journeys, because they are so
meaningful and dear to them.
22/11/2012
Today a participant suggested 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
28/11/2012
This process is becoming a gathering of ideas, the mothers are expressing how they want to shape the
performance. Some of them are offering artistic concepts for the work. One has offering her paintings, made
with things found in the house. I feel very blessed to work with this group of women.
29/11/2012
Visited the space where the public performance is going to take place. Beautiful! The light pours in through
the skylight. How we are going to make the video visible in the daylight performance? The evening
performance will be fine. The place is all painted white, there is a pure energy about it that I find very
conducive.
01/12/2012
Thoughts in red:
What do we need to do to have a voice as artists? I thought the artists role in society was to push
boundaries, rather than ticking boxes and fit institutional strategies. I will not give up making my voice
heard.
Thoughts in blue:
Blue feathers, blue cocoons, blue as the immersive feeling of plunging in the water, warm blue, emotional
blue, journeys by water, journeys by air.
Where is the blue in Archway?: Blue veil, blue paper with gold and silver, blue transparent balls attached
to blue ribbons, blue black dresses, blue video...
12/12/2012
Oh, the joys of hanging upside down every Wednesday with a committed group of mothers! The feel of lightness
is there, even when things are heavy all around us.
We made lots of progress, learned to work together, going beyond the feeling of instability generated by
dangling in the air, hanging or standing on a moving apparatus.
12/01/2013
Last rehearsal. Everyone's excited and committed. Nearly in sync. Belinda's video portrays Archway as both a
menacing and lovely place to live. A kaleidoscope of flying women. Husbands and children pop in at various
times to collect their mothers, marveling at the transformed space. Our slice of heaven away from the busy
streets...
17/01/2013
At 11am, whilst the audience was entering the space, I felt my heart racing, butterflies in my stomach and
that crescendo of adrenaline that comes with performing. I don't perform regularly perform anymore - I
mostly enable people to perform. But there I was, gently swinging, feeling the mothers near me. They have a
lot of trust in me, these mothers who are prepared to publicly perform an aerial choreography now. Three
months ago none of them had ever been on an aerial apparatus. We have journeyed together and have been good
companions. Now, here in the present, five minutes before the performance, I feel a surge of complete joy.
31/01/2013
The mothers' voices:
"Although I was nervous, I really enjoyed the performance. I felt we were able to really draw the audience
into our world and captivate them, which was a very special feeling. It was a real pleasure to unite with a
group of women and share something so unusual with them, and to perform together as a team." (Belinda)
"Our final performance was a wonderful combination of art and aerial yoga, music and therapy, a moving
installation. The community came together and honoured creativity and parenting. It was a very special
evening that I feel honoured to have been a part of and was so proud to be able to share with friends and
family." (Claire)
"My heart was pumping so fast I saw my cocoon shaking, when the music started the cocoon stop trembling and
there I was, enjoying every minute of it, not thinking if I was doing well or wrong: I just immerse myself
in the moment and felt every minute of it." (Sonia)
"I can't remember how many different shows/plays I have been in - performing in this show was one of the
most memorable and enjoyable experiences. It was so unique and special. There was something about a group of
mothers in Archway that seemed so random and yet so vibrant, diverse and unexpected that made it so alive
and unique." (Emma)
CREDITS
Scarabeus: Daniela Essart, Belinda Ackermann, Beatrice Perini, Soren Nielsen
Participants: Belinda, Camilla, Claire, Emma, Sonia, Diana, Khedra, Rika, Pui-Lai, Ana-maria, Farhiya, and
Amber
Performers: Belinda, Camilla, Claire, Emma, Sonia, Diana, and Khedra
Thanks to: Nasso Christou and Mita Pandya at Archway Children's Centre
Documentation: Roberto Battista, Seb Lynch, and Angus Wilson
