On the Way

Newry Townhall

Jan 2020

Solo performance duration 1 hr

Bbeyond proposes the theme and concept of Freedom and Identity, with the potential  sense of Freedom from Identity, to help expand our thinking on Identity. On the Way … Step by Step uses Freedom and Identity as themes to develop a deep  ecology where the role of artists is in promoting creativity as outlets of contemporary  thinking moving the agenda from ego to eco and beyond echoing contemporary  issues. Bbeyond endeavours to engage with these issues through promoting solo and  groups performance art works.  

The NI border represents division and with its centenary looming and Brexit taking  place, Bbeyond wishes to highlight this very important and sensitive aspect of  Freedom and Identity proposing performative ways to overcome divisions, even if its  only a momentary overcoming or eclipsing chronological time. This is arts essential  essence and potential, ‘art as unity’ as Iris Murdock encapsulates it.* 

*Iris Murdoch, writing in ‘Metaphysics as a guide to morals’, (p8) “Art makes places and opens spaces for reflection, it is a defence against materialism and against pseudo-scientific attitudes to life. It calms and invigorates, it gives us energy  by unifying, possibly by purifying, our feelings. In enjoying great art we experience a clarification and concentration and  perfection of our own consciousness. Emotion and intellect are unified into a limited whole. In this sense art also creates  its clients; it inspires intuitions of ideal formal and symbolic unity which enables us to co-operate with the artist and to be,  as we enjoy the work, artists ourselves. The art object conveys, in the most accessible and for many the only available.

The On the Way event was followed by a public Bbeyond Monthly Performance in Newry on the Saturday. 

Images courtesy of Jayne Cherry and Jordan Hutchings.

Event poster with a blue background and white topographic lines, displaying the event title 'ON THE WAY', dates '27 JAN - 2 FEB 2020', location 'BELFAST NEWRY DERRY ~ LONDONDERRY', and a list of artists including Nieves Correa, Sandra Corrigan Breathnach, Eleni Kollopoulou, Bernadette Hopkins, Zara Lyness, Elaine McGinn, Karin Meiner, Boris Nieslony, Mari Nordahl, Anette Friedrich Johannessen. Logos for The Glassworks, Arts Council, and Beyond are at the bottom.
A woman with dark hair sits on a small wooden chair on a wooden floor, performing a ritual or ceremonial act with pink ribbons, a glass bowl, a white cloth, and various objects around her.
A woman in white clothes standing on a wooden floor with red paint on her clothes and body, holding her hair with her left hand. There is a small chair, a woven basket filled with white balls, and a white cloth beneath her. Blood-like red liquid is o
A person dressed in white is squatting on a small chair, pouring red liquid over their legs and feet, with red liquid spilling onto a white cloth beneath them. There are eggs and a scissors on the cloth, and a wire basket filled with white balls, pos
Person in a white and red dress sitting on a chair in a room with wooden floor, surrounded by balls of yarn and knitting supplies.
A woman sitting on a small wooden chair on a white cloth, covered in a splattered red liquid, with white balls and a basket of white balls nearby, in a wooden-floored gymnasium.
A woman dressed in white and red is standing on a white cloth stained with red, holding a basket filled with white cloths or tissues, with a small wooden stool nearby on a wooden floor.
A woman in white and pink traditional attire performing a ritual on a white cloth with offerings on a wooden floor, while three men and one woman observe. The venue is a spacious hall with wooden floors, beige walls, and curtains.
A woman standing on a white cloth covered with spilled red liquid and surrounded by ping pong balls in a large, empty room with wooden floors. She appears to be involved in a performance or art piece.
A badminton court with a white towel covered in red paint, scattered around balls, a small wooden stool, a net with balls inside, and a square container with red paint.
Two women with a third person participating in a ritual or spiritual ceremony on a wooden floor. One woman is sitting on the floor, and the other is standing, holding a basket with white cloth or paper inside. There is a small wooden stool and white
Woman dressed in black leather jacket and wide-brim black hat kneeling on a city sidewalk, with a large ball covered in white fabric.
Person wearing a black leather jacket holding their head with a large bundle of white cloth or paper covering their face.
A person wearing a black hat, black leather jacket, and blue jeans is standing on a street holding a large bundle wrapped in white cloth. The person is embracing the bundle with their eyes closed. The background shows buildings, people walking, and p
A woman with purple hair sitting on the ground, with a fabric covered abll, as another person in a red coat assists her.