Internal Rhythms, 2023

Internal Rhythms was an hour long performance piece held at Herbert Gallery, Coventry. Following recent research into combining drawing with sound, the performance drawing creates music via an accelerometer which is then modified in real time by musician and sound artist Martin Swan. The piece is the latest in a series of works in which the artist seeks to push boundaries of Neurodivergent practices by combining different media. With thanks to Kirstie Lewis, Martin Swan and Lewis Owen.

Momentum, 2022

A live to camera video performance that measures the tolerances of my ability to draw patterns. I use the contact mic to build up a sonic record of my work that mirrors the drawn patterns on the paper made with graphite. Working intuitively, each layer of the drawing responds to the previous layer and the sound that it creates. Video shot and edited by Cristina Schek.

Between Control and Desire, 2022

Performed and developed for Field of Action, a Draw to Perform exhibition at Canning Gallery, London. Using graphite and found chalk, repeated marks and gestures layer over the paper to make sounds that build as the drawing develops. Photography by Marco Berardi.

 Performance into Dyspraxia

Funded by the Arts Council Develop Your Creative Practice grant scheme

Images courtesy of Chris Freeman, 2022

Info

Using his performance background as a starting point, Gerald has been developing performance strategies that emphasise his strengths as an artist. Focusing on the idea of imperfection within performance and drawing, he is also interested in the notion of invisibility and visibility within disability practices. This is particularly relevant when it comes to access needs to institutions and developing networks of collaborators. 

Throughout this project, Gerald has taken aspects of his practice and developed them to reflect repetitive expressive gestures. He has been playing with colour and shape in the form of pastel drawings and experimental colour photograms which stem from the visual stress that Dyspraxic people experience when reading or looking at high contrast images. Music and sound have also played a key theme, in performances Dys-Appear (2021) Brighton, where the artist seeks to become visible in the public space for a short duration, disrupting the space while drawing with chalk and a gym ball. 

Writing the Future, 2021

'Writing the Future' is a performance by Gerald Curtis and Claire Zakiewicz based on their respective drawing practices. The work is a performance painting made in response to music designed by Habib William Kherbek (of the band Dirtagnan) especially for this project.The artists respond to each other and the music during the 45-minute piece which balances spontaneity with structure. This open-ended gestural work alludes to writing while exploring ideas of control and cooperation.