MY POSTHUMANS ARE DANCING, BUT DO THEY HAVE HEARTS?

My Posthumans Are Dancing, But Do They Have Hearts? Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

MY POSTHUMAN TRIBE

I am still fascinated by posthumans. In fact I've painted a tribe of them over the last months! And, here are two more. These two are dancing. Why? Well, when thinking about the posthuman ie: a place and/or an entity from the far distant future, when humans no longer exist, I wonder about all sorts of things. Some say we are already posthuman, but I think that idea is driven by identity questions and issues, rather than existence ones. 

DANCING

So, why are my new posthumans dancing? And, why do I ask if they have hearts? If a posthuman entity was some kind of downloaded mind, would it have a facility to 'know' what dancing is or is like? Would it have a sensation of movement? Would it appreciate the dynamism of dancing with someone else? Would it improvise? Would it tire or know what a tired sensation is like? Would it be aware of spectators? Would spectators marvel at the dancer's strength and grace?

HEARTS?

So, to the question about hearts. I love to dance. My daughter loves to dance. We both feel it in our bodies and our hearts, although I apparently dance in a very old fashioned way! Our hearts pump faster for sure, but the joy and vibrancy of dancing is not just about physical movement. It involves a connection to music, to others, to imagination. It connects you to the rhythms of the earth...hey the whole universe! Could a posthuman downloaded mind or a completely synthetic being experience these things?  Could it say " I love to dance or I love dancing"?

I've tried to imagine posthumans dancing. My two, in this new painting, look like they are dancing. Their tree-of-life limbs seem hopeful but the binary code running down their 'bodies' - 00111111 instructs a ? - this question mark/code poses lots of questions about form, embodiment, structure, reality, the future and it also 'asks', due to its positioning, "Where is the heart?". But, it's not just asking about a literal heart is it?

"Where is the heart?" could be a good question to ask even now. As previously mentioned, some people think we are already posthuman...maybe it's because when we question the human identity we are really questioning where our hearts are?

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

P.S. Scroll through my other recent posts and you will find more of my posthumans! 

ELEMENTAL DANCE

Elemental Dance Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

 

I hope those of you who read my last post 'Love-Valentine's Kind' enjoyed a bit of fun. Dancing is also fun! It is also transformative in a number of diverse ways. It is great exercise, so can help with weight reduction. It can be a very social passtime where frissons of romance blossom. It can take an individual to places within as they lose themselves in the energy of movement and music. I've seen my daughter dancing in ways which indicate she has lost herself in the moment. I remember the same feelings when I was younger and used to prance around my parents' living room. I have seen how dancing, with the need to remember sequences and work as a team when in a group, assist in alleviating attention deficit issues and sequential thinking blockages. I know dance can express more than words can say...it's like a painting!

The Whirling Dervishes are, of course, one of the most famous examples of the transformative power of dancing and movement. Check out this website for more information. The repeated whirling movement mirroring the revolving or circular motions of the universe within us and beyond to the multiverse.

In the painting above 'Elemental Dance' I have tried to capture Mother Nature's embodiment of life, the quiver, the quake and the jazz! Everything is in a constant state of movement, whether quickened or slowed. Life is a symphony! It is an ongoing one propelled by nature's pulse. The painting below 'Into The Symphony' is an older painting, but 'speaks' of the nuances of life's rhythm.

In 'Elemental Dance' the female figure representing Mother Nature is the link between everything. The two trees-of-life erupting from her head and feet connect her to all seemingly opposite elements. The  red umbilical-like cord which connects her heart with the larger tree-of-life is the universal/ multiversal pulse.

We are dance partners with Mother Nature! Sometimes we take steps that do not synchronise, such as plundering resources in ways that are detrimental to the environment. But, the dance will go on   sometimes with tempo and other times with restorative slow waltzes.

I consider my work at one level to be quite political in a provocative sense rather than an overt one.

Regular readers will know I have written about this before, particularly in reference to beauty. By

harnessing beauty, love and compassion we have the capacity to neuter violent and agressive argument. The very act of harnessing then can be seen as the supreme political act.

BEAUTY POSTS

Lifeblood

Beauty and The Vortex

Beauty as a Portal

Beauty Gives Hope a Chance

Into The Symphony Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/09/into-symphony.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/09/into-symphony-again.html

COUNT DOWN

For Everyone: Words and Paintings

Book Launch!

Details HERE

APRIL QUIVER

17-29 April

Solo exhibition

Graydon Gallery, Merthyr Rd, New Farm Brisbane

QUIVER is an exhibition of new paintings inspired by concepts of Mother Nature. Using the age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life symbol, Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox explores distance from the nano to the multiversal. In this distance where perspective, both literal and metaphoric, takes on multi layered dimensions, the quiver …tremble….vibration…of all life reminds us of the shared rhythmic pulse across time and space. 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

P.S. If you are looking for THE perfect Valentine's gift, then make sure you check out 'Love...Valentine's Kind'