MATCH MAKE-BEND IN THE RIVER
Bend In the River was created for Maiden Voyage’s lockdown commissioning initiative Match Make that teamed a dance artist with a new artistic collaborator to create together (but apart) during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Irish mythology, rivers and streams are often a boundary between this world and the otherworld. Bend in the River is the result of a collaboration between movement artist Janie Doherty and artist Locky Morris. Filmed downstream in Derry next to the River Foyle – the fastest flowing river in Europe. This movement/dream sequence is in a constant state of fluidity paying homage to the currents within the Foyle and the undercurrents within life’s flow. The insistent and brooding music is provided by Morris’ longtime music collaborator, John O’ Neill.
Bend in the River can be viewed here:
Janie Doherty is a freelance artist working in Northern Ireland. After graduating with a first class honours in dance, Janie was a full time ensemble member of Echo Echo Dance Theatre in Derry 2010-2016 and during this time Janie developed, performed and co-created performances as well as teaching on their outreach programmes and supported the running of the company. Janie has won numerous awards from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Creative Industries and Acorn Legacy to study in New York, Berlin and Hong Kong. Based in Belfast since 2017 Janie is touring her latest work Politics of Comfort, is a performer in Oona Doherty’s Lady Magma and is a selected artist for the PS2 Freelands Artist Programme. Janie works with Maiden Voyage, DU Dance and many other organisations, groups and communities on outreach programmes.
Locky Morris rose to prominence in the 1980’s with work that used the language of international art to comment on the local realities of life during the conflict here. His output since then has been diverse and wide-ranging, incorporating gallery exhibitions, many public art projects as well as being a musician and songwriter.
His art tends to reflect on the complexities and intricacies of his immediate terrain and touches on a broad range of subjects, from the highly personal and familial to the political. Often underpinned by humour and sometimes triggered by what he once referred to as ‘daily epiphanies’ his gallery assemblages place an emphasis on observation, perceptual manipulation and the physical nature of sound. He posts daily to an Instagram account @lockymorrisartist ‘especiallyeverything’ seeing it as a form of parallel practice.
Maiden Voyage Dance is principally funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and is also funded by Belfast City Council.
