to feel something tipping, under and towards you

Six beautiful trans people lie in a heap on the carpet. We realise we’re among them. Her head in your lap, knees curled around your chest. My shoulders propped up against their ribs, a hand draped sleepily across his cheek.

In this continuously looping film, you are invited to join Es Morgan in an imaginary domestic space. To pause with them in a precarious intimacy. How might our bodies be warped, or even merge, in this moment of encounter?

‘to feel something tipping’ charts a cyclical process of emergence and disappearance, of breathing, of being with others and being alone. It weaves together deeply textured poetry and dance, exploring visibility, dormancy, and trans embodiment.

The work is audio described and captioned.

Co-commissioned by Wellcome Collection and The Place, London, UK.

  • Es Morgan
    Director
  • Eleanor Sikorski
    Director
  • Es Morgan
    Writer
  • Mitchell Sowden
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental
  • Genres:
    experimental, poetry, dance
  • Runtime:
    37 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 24, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Wellcome Collection
    London
    United Kingdom
    June 24, 2021
    Two week exhibition period
Director Biography - Es Morgan, Eleanor Sikorski

Es Morgan (they/she) is an artist, performer, and producer from East Yorkshire whose practices draw from diverse interests in dance, live art and writing. They make performances for theatres, clubs, galleries, screens and pages. These works emerge in response to an array of interests: transgender theory, post-work futures, poetry, tarot and far-left politics; funnelled through their shifting experiences of intimacy, desire and longing.

Their recent film, 'to feel something tipping, under and towards you was made in collaboration with filmmaker and dance artist Eleanor Sikorski, co-commissioned by Wellcome Collection and The Place, London, and was exhibited online for two weeks in June 2021.

'Mum, I'm in the fourth dimension, see!', their full length work for theatres has been performed at Trans Pride, Marlborough Productions, Brighton; Encounters Festival, Yorkshire Dance, Leeds; Next Festival, The Yard Theatre, London; and The Place, London.

Previous works have been performed at a range of venues including Assembly Point Gallery, London; Kunstraum Gallery, London; Vivid Projects, Birmingham; The Wardrobe, Bristol; La Fete du Slip, Switzerland; and tanzhaus nrw, Germany.

Eleanor (she/her) is a dancer based in Leeds, UK. She grew up and studied in London (London Contemporary Dance School 2006-10). Her work spans filmmaking, performance, comedy, cabaret and music. As a videographer she has worked with artists Es Morgan, Lewys Holt, Sue MacLaine, Seke Chimutengwende and Feet Off The Ground. She co-runs Nora with fellow dancers Stephanie McMann and Flora Wellesley Wesley: together they invite choreographers to make work for them to perform (most recently Eleanor Bauer and Deborah Hay) and they advocate for dancers' working rights. As a dancer Eleanor has worked for Eva Recacha, Else Tunemyr, Seke Chimutengwende, Igor & Moreno, William Hunt and others. With her partner, dance artist Lewys Holt, she is making Wizard Piece (working title) a show for 2022. She also works as a choreographic assistant and mentor and since 2020 has been making comics.

www.eleanorsikorski.com

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Director Statement

Performance, Writing and Choreography: Es Morgan

Cinematography and Editing: Eleanor Sikorski

Set Design: Tristan Albrecht

Music and Sound Design: Wordcolour

Lighting Design and Location Audio Recording: Mike Picknett

Costume Design: Carlota Rossello

Producing and Technical Support: Mitchell Sowden

Technical Assistance: Kate Stonestreet and Lewys Holt

Audio Description - Read by Eleanor Sikorski, written with Es Morgan. Support from Quiplash.

Captions - Written by Es Morgan, Eleanor Sikorski and Wordcolour. Support from Collective Text with Joseph Dunn and Melissa Toner.

Lead image by Tristan Albrecht, screenshots by Eleanor Sikorski