Faculty of Art

Sculpture/Installation

Eija Loponen-Stephenson

Movement Studies in Angular Space

In line with the tenants of parkour or free running, my hope was that my students interact with the physical constraints of their urban environment in a generative and playful way, detached from the normally accepted mores and rhythms of the city.

“The images integrated within this work were captured by Wearable Art students who participated in the workshop/seminar I instructed on February 12th, 2020 at OCAD University with the generous support of Professor Sean Smith. I developed a three-part lesson plan which addresses how the body’s movement is influenced by the local architectural environment. The supplementary material accompanying this lesson comes in the form of a pocket-sized pamphlet which details three field exercises designed with the intention of having the students embody new modes of inhabiting space. During this workshop students were given one hour to document themselves in the urban environment performing gestures informed by the strategies laid out in the lesson. Mimicking the actions of the students’ bodies, the paper prints drape over the metal forms without fastening materials, their shapes informed by the structures beneath them. ”