A woman dances alone on a stage. The swathes of fabric bellowing and collapsing around her as she moves; spinning, swirling. From one moment to the next, the dancer’s body becomes engulfed by the folds of fabric, disappearing from view, while simultaneously expanding, transforming and breathing beyond her skin. Described by art critic Mallarmé as resembling giant petals, butterflies or a conch shell unfurling, (1) the dancer, suspended in place and time, is an apparition. Her body, disproportionate and malleable, is an abstraction of flesh and movement, taking up and traveling through space.
Excerpt from Of Black Holes and Feminine Flesh, a review published in Peripheral Review for Vancouver-based artist Andrea Taylor‘s solo exhibition Voices of Unknown Origin (aka the Time Traveller) at Back Gallery Projects, October 6-22, 2016.
Image: Andrea Taylor, A Stranger in a Strange Land 2, painting on photograph, Seashore by Jeh Macdonald, Nova Scotia 1923. Back Gallery Projects.