Wild Card – Charistopher Matthews/formed view – my body’s an exhibition

Wild Card is a Sadler’s Wells initiative that gives artists the opportunity to present the work of their choice. It aims to bring fresh ideas to the stage by giving young creators a platform to share the work they admire.

UK Premiere. American-born, London-based Christopher Matthews curates a special event featuring several movement-based installations, opening a dialogue on themes of gender, class structure, intersections of the classical and contemporary, icon versus self, and pop culture. Taking the Janet Jackson lyrics from the 2008 song Feedback – “my body’s an exhibition baby” – as a curatorial provocation, audiences are invited to question the relationship between the body as object and spectatorship, echoed in the lyrics describing the sensual urges of two bodies coming into contact. In this evening, Matthews builds on his practice of investigating the relationship between dance’s historical position and its mirroring in pop culture. International performance makers and visual artists display video works, photographic prints and live installations alongside two of Matthews’ works. Lads exposes the influence of neo-classical culture on early modern dance, whilst My Body’s Number 1 explores class structure through references to go-go boys and Greco-Roman nudes.