Ceara Conway
Thin Places - St Etheldreda's Crypt, 2014 - Commissioned by Kings College, London
Responding to the history of the life of St Etheldreda, this performance explored themes of women's sexuality and position within the Catholic church.
The history of St Etheldreda tells us she wished to remain a virgin in spite of her father marrying her twice for political reasons. She also had a tumour on her neck and believed that it had been given to her as a punishment from god because she was vain. She wore many necklaces as a way to cover her tumour and in medieval times women copied her style and used to wear lace around their necks. The word ''twadry'' meaning cheap and debased comes from the name Audrey, which is derived from Etheldreda.
For ''Thin Places'' Ceara worked with Aisling Richmond ( dancer /psychotherapist ) to create a series of photographs and a short video piece that depict both sensuality and femininity . In the film piece, lace is wound around a woman's neck, ravelling continually until it covers her mouth.
A live peformance was enacted in the Crypt of Etheldreda by Ceara Conway and students of MA Performance Studies at Kings College
Select images of performance by Hana Videen - all other images by Ceara Conway