About
I am very cautious of how I move through the world, aware
that so much of our behaviour is simply the repetition of patterns we see in
others. It is impossible to be entirely in control of our actions and therefore
our bodies – ourselves. To do so requires the uttermost focus, a dissection of
the intention and force behind each movement, a process that renders us
useless. By slowing down enough to allow us to digest the meaning of our
impulses, we fall out of step with the rest of the world which happily leaves
us behind.
As things around us begin to shift and malfunction, tension rises between holding on to a sense of normalcy and realising that it is not, in fact, in our interest to do so. My practice explores this tension. Through audio, video and performance I invite people to participate in deconstructing the spaces they encounter and the power structures that produce them. I ask people to consider who benefits from the way things are and how we might change this. I propose that by physically engaging with the world, through movement and touch, we can reveal its contradictions and propensity for transformation.
As things around us begin to shift and malfunction, tension rises between holding on to a sense of normalcy and realising that it is not, in fact, in our interest to do so. My practice explores this tension. Through audio, video and performance I invite people to participate in deconstructing the spaces they encounter and the power structures that produce them. I ask people to consider who benefits from the way things are and how we might change this. I propose that by physically engaging with the world, through movement and touch, we can reveal its contradictions and propensity for transformation.
Thandiwe Bethune is a multidisciplinary artist and activist. She holds a BVA Honours
from the Victorian College of the Arts and Sydney College of the Arts, where
she was also active in the campaign to save the art school. Her practice
explores the boundaries between art and activism seeking to draw people into
both. Thandiwe has recently begun exploring the use of creative arts in
community and health settings, teaching dance and art to adults and children of
a wide range of abilities. Having recently studied creative arts and health at
the University of Tasmania, her research explores movement as a means of
communication and personal transformation.
Education
2020 Victorian College of the Arts, MEL
2016 - 2018 Sydney College of the Arts, SYD
2018 Parsons School of Design, NY
Exhibitions
2020
2020
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2017
VCA Graduate Exhibition,
Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
RIOT!
Connection Arts Space,
SCA Graduate Exhibition
Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney
Small Prints and Moving Sculptures Dedspace Gallery, Sydney
Fire in the Wet Lab
25 East Gallery, New York
Spring Open Studios ISCP, New York
Ennui
The International Gallery, New York
Resistance Art Week Cellar Theatre, Sydney