Orbitals — The falling, spinning or tumbling body
This series, Orbitals, explores the fluid tension of human bodies suspended within fragmented universes. While the work originated from a collaboration with circus artists like Fred Deb, it has evolved into a broader study of the acrobatic body in transition. These figures—acrobats, Olympic athletes, and cliff divers—are captured in aerial or marine environments where gravity is momentarily suspended.
The first piece, Body Language — Circus Movements acquired by the town of Vitry-Châtillon, depicts four distinct movements: horizontal and vertical spins, lateral walking on a hand-held rope, and a spin during aerial silks. A second large painting, created for a Millennium Dome project, Body Language included four additional movements: a tightrope walker crossing the canvas, a pirouette, a breakdancer’s head spin, and a trapeze artist’s to-and-fro motion. This piece was later exhibited and acquired by the Asia University Museum of Modern Art in Taiwan.
To deepen the study of movement, Fred and I used a spinning belt to analyze motion in all three spatial dimensions. This led to my early Orbitals series, featuring four movements by two circus artists captured in full 3D, inspired by Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic motion studies.
The series evolved into complex compositions with multiple overlapping movements, such as Flip and spatial choreographies of falling figures like Falling in Unison.