“2: The Locomotion (With Me)” is a sequel to Edward Muybridge’s seminal ‘Animal Locomotion’ series of photos. In the piece, I perform a series of stock movements (running, falling, jumping, star jumps, forwards roll) as dictated by the audience via an iPad, and a Rokoko suit captures my movement which is mapped onto an almost-nude 3d scan of myself in Unity and routed via NDI to Isadora, which captures individual frames of the motion and displays them side by side, superimposed on the same grid background that Muybridge used in his original photos.
I was interested in using modern technology to recreate what is often (albeit incorrectly) considered one of the first instances of motion capture, and in continuing to explore the idea of cruelty to performer (I went into this in full knowledge the audience would have me repeat painful or difficult motions, or try to make me do multiple at once - and they did.). The title is a pun on the line “Come on, come on. Do the loco-motion with me”, from the song “Loco-motion”, originally recorded in 1962 by Little Eva - but most known by Kylie Minogue’s cover.
Photos by Mark Williams
An example of Muybridge’s original work.