Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Reading : A - Art
Amelia and the mapmaker
‘Amelia and the Mapmaker’ is a multi-media performance devised by Allen and composer Dorothy Ker (University of Sheffield), performed by percussionist Chris Brannick, mezzo soprano Lucy Stevens, topologist Katie Steckles and sound designer Kelcey Swain. The intention of the performance was to visualize and dramatise complex mathematical problems, for non-academic audiences, including the Poincaré conjecture, which encompasses themes such as the shape of the universe, topology, and the nature of infinity. The project was developed as part of the 19thstep interdisciplinary research group (Allen, Ker, choreographer Carol Brown and mathematician Marcus du Sautoy) whose objective was to explore synergies that cut across disciplinary boundaries to reveal new ways of understanding space and the shared nature of questions around space. Following a series of performances in 2008-9 based on the writings Jorge Luis Borges, the group developed the research project Everything and Nothing, (funded by EPSRC ‘Partnerships for Public Engagement’ scheme, 2010), whose aim was to bring complex mathematical ideas to public audiences. As well as co-writing the script, Allen developed digital models, images, sets and projections for the performance and devised a series of videos and hands-on workshops with Topologist Katie Steckles (each performance was accompanied with a practical hands on workshop led by Steckles giving the audience the opportunity to learn more about the mathematical ideas explored in the performance).‘Amelia and the Mapmaker’, toured to the Green Man Festival, the British Science Festival, the Bob Kayley Theatre UoR and the Otley Science Festival. Everything and Nothing was featured in the London Mathematical Society newsletter http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk/05.html#45 and BBC Radio Leeds (Otley Science Festival Performance DATE). The performances, development and videos are documented on the ‘Everything and Nothing’ blog http://everythingandnothingproject.blogspot.co.uk/ and Amelia and the Mapmaker performance website, http://ameliaandthemapmaker.com/
