Sunday, 27 October 2013

Body-paint portraits: Camilla Brendon

Millie with one of her installations: 
Our favourite image from the photos shot at the end of the stop-motion session:


Last Sunday did my first experimental stop-motion 'body-paint portrait' with Camilla Brendon aka Millie, my great friend whose art project 34South|61North is taking her the full length of the Americas over a couple of years and means we've now crossed paths in 6 different countries and 3 continents! :-)

Starting with an interview with Camilla about where she is from and where she has lived and what home means for her, I then asked her which colours, shapes and sensations she associates with each country or culture that has influenced her.   Over the course of a few hours I painted these patterns onto her face, shoulders and chest, telling a little of her story through the body-paint (having looked at a lot of Bolivian weavings over the last month or so as reference for storytelling through colour and iconography, I like of think of this way of body-painting as a 'body-painted weave'.)

 (Rotating anti-clockwise from top): 
Our set-up in the garden here at our SB home. My hand and arm as my paint palette and Millie's interview answers:
Born in the USA: red and blue mountains 
From England: green and silent (painted as green strip across the mouth)
Living currently in Cochabamba, Bolivia: noisy, green and yellow spirals
Lived in Spain: Red, warmth, circles
Lived in Japan: Orange, blue and white rectangles 
Lived in Australia: green and yellow triangles




As a  I'm hoping to continue this development from the ONE portrait project with more of the friends and volunteers here in Cochabamba, exploring the stories of this fascinating multi-lingual international community.

Thanks for the collaboration Millie! 
:-)

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