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Review In August 2007, Brisbane audiences were treated to a retrospective of Suzon Fuks' experimental film and video work as part of the Ausdance programme of dance on screen. Spanning more than twenty years from the mid 1980s through to the premiere of work made last month, the programme gave an insight into the progression of Fuks' exploration of light and movement in film and dance, and the playfulness that is characteristic of her work. Fuks trained as a dancer and choreographer at the Lilian Lambert Academy in Brussels before completing a Masters in Visual Arts at La Cambre, Brussels. It was here that she developed her skills in photography, film and video. After graduating, she travelled to New York and Quebec, and the early films in the programme were made during this period. York News is an impressionistic collage of passing images of the city, while De Visu provides a window into the world of Quebec's artists during the time of the Gulf War. Fuks asks the colourful crowd of characters - writers, performers, thinkers - what does 'vision' mean, in a world of images? Framed by a woman taking tiny steps to balance atop a large ball as she negotiates the city's footpaths and bridges, the film is evocative of the struggle to stay upright in an uncertain world. Ever fascinated by movement, Fuks zoomed her camera in on juggling balls in Myth…s, a relentless and hypnotic visual meditation. Movement is a strong motif throughout her work, and since her first collaboration with dancer James Cunningham, the human body in motion has been her focus. Filmed in India, From The Earth To The Sky marks the beginning of Fuks and Cunningham's long and productive partnership; this was followed by Cheating Death, which foreshadows themes and forms that they continue to explore through their work. The theme of death is most overtly explored in Thanatonauts, filmed during a residency at Brisbane's Powerhouse in 2003. Fuks conducted interviews with local people, gathering their opinions and experiences around death, and these ideas were then physicalised by four "thanatonauts" - dancers James Cunningham, Scotia Monkovic, Vinildas Gurukkal and Simon Adams. The project included live performances which generated material for the final film - a poetic, humourous and profound journey to the Underworld. Fuks' skill in remediating dance through the lens is beautifully expressed in the quirky gem Fragmentation, in which two male dancers (Cunningham and Rob Tannion) attempt to read a newspaper together, then apart, and finally reach a compromise. This was recorded during a residency at Dance4 Nottingham in 2004, but only edited in 2007. Fuks' camerawork and editing literally dances, teasing the movement across both physical and screen space; the dancers slide in and out of frame and the frame itself traverses the screen. There is a strong sense of the video medium and its tools being equal partners in the dance. The final work in the retrospective programme was Rings, the first three videos in an ongoing series (now numbering six) of one-minute unedited takes of bodies projected onto bodies. Each minute offers a tantalising glimpse of the familiar made unfamiliar, overlaid with whispering voices that entice the viewer into a mysterious world that seems to lie beyond the smooth surface of the video. Fuks selected excerpts from texts by one of her teachers, Fernand Shirren, who has been a significant inspiration in her work. Introducing the programme, Fuks said it was a privilege to be able to show her work together in this format, and that it had also been a good incentive to finish editing some works and reformat older work. It was even more of a privilege for the audience to be able to experience an overview of her work in a single programme, and gain a sense of her inspirational journey in choreography, film and videography. by Helen Varley Jamieson

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		BODY IN QUESTION A diary come to life, portraying the true story of an Australian dancer who – after paralysing an arm in a motorcycle accident – journeys through the worlds of medicine, rehabilitation and disability, in recovery of self-expression. He finds new angles on perceiving the body, and new ways to move. "Body image" and concepts of "normality" are questioned. Moving and inspirational, poetic and humorous. - Preview (4 1⁄2 min) - Full Show (53 min) June, 2003, at Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris, France - Interviews (13 min) TV appearances, interviews and ads - Reviews (36 seconds) Photos of press clippings
		MIRAGE A movement-based performance installation with video art, sound art and a series of mirror-booths. Taking phantom-limb sensation as a “body-mirage”, and inspired by the work of neurologist V. Ramachandran, Mirage plays on perceptual illusion, the construction of hybrid forms, and the real and virtual fusing and separating. It is an interactive labyrinth of perceptual illusion performed in a reflective pool amongst multi-dimensional projections. Mirage was created in the context of a fellowship awarded by The Australian Choreographic Centre to James Cunningham and Suzon Fuks. Premiered in November 2006 in Canberra. - Preview of Black Space (5 min) - Preview of White Space (5 min) - Entire Work (43 min) November 18, 2006, at The Australian Choreographic Centre, Canberra - Photos
		LIQUID SKIN A dark pool of water is a source from which faces emerge and dissolve. Mutation arises. Glistening transparent plastic forms and computer-generated video merge with the human body. A man is augmented by technology and at the same time manipulated. His life story unfolds from birth, through development, encounters with various creatures, a battle, a meeting with “death”, and the passing beyond a veil. Movement, transparent puppets, video art and spatialised sound form a combination of ancient and hi-tech imagery, mirrored in a liquid skin of water. - Preview (4 1⁄2 min) - Full Show (52 min) May 20, 2006, Banialuka International Festival, Bielsko-Biala, Poland - Subtitles: English, French - Photos top of page
		IGNEOUS OVERVIEW - Mirage Preview (6 1⁄2 min) 2006 - Body in Question Preview (4 1⁄2 min) 2003 - Liquid Skin Preview (4 1⁄2 min) 2006 - Igneous Overview (excerpts of shows) Body in Question – 1999 \| Cheating Death (video) – 2000 \| The Hands Project – 2001 Thanatonauts – Navigators of Death (live performance) – 2001 \| Fragmentation – 2002 \| Networked Performance Research – 2003 \| Thanatonauts – Navigators of Death (video) – 2004 - Playshops (excerpts of workshops) MovideoLab for Professionals – 2004 \| Use of Multimedia in Performance, Ausdance Teacher in-service – 2002 Use of Multimedia in Performance, Griffith University – 2002 \| Multimedia Performance, Currumbin High School – 2002 Mixed Abilities Playshop, Victoria – 1999 - MovideoLab (8 min) documenting a 7 week-end workshop for professionals at Brisbane Powerhouse – 2003 - Training: Kalaripayattu training and classes in India, Brisbane and Lismore top of page
		THANATONAUTS – Navigators of Death Originally a "serial" multi-site performance delivered over 7 days and later adapted to a screen-based video, Thantonauts takes Death as a land that can be visited, layered with interviews of people sharing their personal perceptions and experiences. Inspired by the French author Bernard Werber's novel "Les Thanatonautes", in which Death - the last frontier - is navigated and charted, the work combines stories, contemporary dance, Kalaripayatt (South Indian martial art), and original music and soundscape. The interviews of Brisbane locals that are interweaved throughout the work present views into people's inner-world. - Live performance + interviews (54:14 min) October 7-13, 2001, l’attitude 27.5 Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse - Videodance (13:20 min) February 2004. English, with French and English subtitles
		FRAGMENTATION An installation performance created in a Line of Enquiry artist residency at Dance4 Nottingham, UK, 2002, on the theme "Even though technology links people, it can also fragment their lives". With dancer Robert Tannion (DV8, Theatre de la Complicité, Stan Won't Dance). A videodance was edited later: Two guys (Tannion and Cunningham), absorbed in their morning paper and their personal space “bubble”, somehow manage to find a disjointed connection with one another. Screened in \| VideoDanzaBA (Buenos Aires Nov 07) \| Dance on Camera (NY Jan 08) \| Soiree composite de la Bellone (Brussels Dec 07) \| selected as ReelDance 2008 finalist - Installation Performance (22:46 min) November 2002, Preset, Dance4, Nottingham, UK - Sound and projection material (16:22 min) November 2002 - Videodance (5:08 min) August 2007 top of page
		THE HANDS PROJECT A performance in which the audience move from room to room. Presented in various versions with a cast of up to 17, aged between 7 and 70. - hands 1999, (43:35 min) 1999, Conservatorium for the Arts, Lismore, NSW - hands 2000a (29:48 min) April 2000, Department of Performance Studies (DPS), University of Sydney. Work-in-progress showing with audience feedback - hands 2000b (46:16 min) April 2000, City Hall, Lismore, NSW - hands 2001 (53:00 min) January 2001, DPS. Includes “Big Hands” trial - hands 2002 (4:23 min) February 2002, the “Tickle” sequence in Big Feet Little Feet Dance Festival, Byron Bay, NSW - les mains (0:44 min) May 2002, a “Big Hands” sister project, Zinneke Parade, Brussels, Belgium
		#1 SUZON FUKS This experimental collection (across 2 DVDs) spanning more than 20 years, highlights Fuks’ interest in the moving image, using light to reveal movement. Texturally layered, her imagery draws parallels and connections, analogies between the abstract and the mundane. - york news (5:38 min) 1985. The imprint of a city such as New York on an individual. \| 85 Major Award S8 Brussels Film Festival \| 86-87 Caracas, Melbourne & Berlin (RFA) S8 Festivals - myth...s (10:04 min) 1986, shortened version. Hypnotic juggling with light \| nominated for Young Belgian Painting Competition - poubelles (2:32 min) 1985. Unused super8 footage layered with a performance for the camera, edited in a 2-hour live event - de visu (24:55 min) 1991. During the Golf war. In a world of images, what does "vision" mean for some Quebecer artists? French with English subtitles top of page
		#2 SUZON FUKS - from the earth to the sky (3:47 min) 1994. Daily movements - first collaboration with James Cunningham - cheating death (11:23 min) 2000. Inspired by a poem, using dance, Kalaripayattu and original music by Selva Ganesh - i i i (2:13 min) 2001. Talking necks: who am I? - thanatonauts – navigators of death (13:20 min) 2004. Death as a territory which can be visited, mixing fiction and interviews. Screenings: \| Not Quite Normal Experimental Moving Image Festival, Hollywood \| Damah Film Festival, Hollywood - fragmentation (5:08 min) 2007. Based on the idea that even though technology links people, it can also fragment their lives. Two guys, absorbed in their morning paper and their personal space “bubble”, somehow manage to find a disjointed connection with one another - rings (6:34 min). A series of one-minute unedited shots. Improvised choreography multi-reprojected on body parts, counterpointed by texts by Fernand Shirren, Maurice Bejart's music advisor and rhythm teacher of many dancers and choreographers. With Helen Varley Jamieson and Scotia Monkivitch