The Choreography of Walking – an exhibition inspired by the work of Salford University’s podiatry department is being held at the Chapman Gallery by Eccles-born artist Ghislaine Howard, 30 March – 30 April.
Personal experience drew Ghislaine to the subject of walking: from charting the first hesitant steps of her children, to watching the determination and courage of her mother refusing to accept the debilitating progress of Parkinson’s disease.
Central to the exhibition of drawings and paintings is the time Ghislaine spent in the University’s podiatry department, looking at the extraordinary choreographies of walking.
In particular Ghislaine was inspired by the work in the gait and human performance laboratory, where computer generated images and video footage are used to analyse every aspect of each individual patient’s walk.
She mostly worked with children with cerebral palsy; making drawings as they moved between two fixed points. Especially drawn to the extraordinary choreography of these short journeys, and using the oldest of technologies of pencil, paint and brush, Ghislaine charted their movements moving with them as they progressed from point to point.
She said: “The resulting drawings capture something of their movements and the individual determination and courage of each child, the support of their families and the dedication and professionalism of the staff.
“I hope that the exhibition will reveal something of how the eye and mind, the lens and the machine compute and image in different ways the shared human experience of walking.”
Ghislaine was named as a Woman of the Year in 2008 by the distinguished Women of the Year foundation for her achievements and contribution to society.
She is also known for her ground-breaking exhibition ‘A Shared Experience’, at Manchester City Art Gallery, which concerned pregnancy and birth, and for her fourteen ‘Stations of the Cross / The Captive Figure’ works, which have toured cathedrals throughout Britain and will be shown at York Minister until May.
The Choreography of Walking, Chapman Gallery, 30 March – 30 April. Entrance is free.
