The Dance

The Dance from the project Time stands still when I think of you

The Dance was first shown in September 2010, at Gingerline, a pop-up restaurant and art space. Printed and framed (24”x30”), the image was propped up in an alcove of a converted Victorian shop, and was accompanied by a selected 1950s soundtrack. Guests were invited to sit down on a small stool to view the image, whilst listening to the music through headphones.I was interested in creating an intimate space between the viewer and the people in the image, and I wanted to bring to life the sense of celebration captured in the original photograph. In the viewer's presence and mind the people in the image were able to dance again, for the first time since the photograph was taken, approximately 60 years earlier.

I am interested in the way the context of an image affects its meaning, and how each time it is shown or reproduced the new context alters people’s reading of it.On 8th March 2011 The Dance was posted onto a disused billboard site in Dalston, London. Situated on the corner of Shacklewell Lane and Seal Street, and measuring 2.5 m x 1.5 m, it can now be seen by people walking and driving past. In terms of time, place, and society, the scene depicted in the image contrasts dramatically with the urban context that surrounds it, allowing the image to multiply itself by creating different references and meanings.

The image will remain on public display indefinitely, until defaced by others, or eroded by the elements.

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