Corina Duyn
Invisible Octopus visual poem
Shadow puppetry video.
2.13 minutes. 2020.
Website: www.corinaduyn.com
Ireland
Poem recited by Corina Duyn
VO of description by Mari Weiss
Shadow puppetry video.
2.13 minutes. 2020.
Website: www.corinaduyn.com
Ireland
Poem recited by Corina Duyn
VO of description by Mari Weiss
ABOUT THE ARTWORK:
As my physical limitations are progressing, I am now exploring my life’s challenges and opportunities through the very accessible art of shadow puppetry. I cut altered photographs from paper and play around with the resulting imagery on an overhead projector. This latest work I can fully relate to poetry, where abstractions are the most powerful way to convey a message. My creative life comes full circle.
BIO:
Corina Duyn (58) is a self-taught artist. She studied and worked as a palliative care nurse, and later as a social care worker in a group home for people with intellectual disabilities. Her artistic career started after moving to Ireland from the Netherlands in 1989. Her Fantasy Folk Artist Dolls are in private and corporate collections.
The onset of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) in 1998 changed Corina’s life and art practice. The portrayal of life around her changed into exploring the inner world of illness. It was not a journey she had intended to make, but ultimately one that has brought her amazing creative opportunities. This includes finding her voice as a writer, arts facilitator, and internationally recognized advocate and lecturer on puppetry, disability, & health.
As her illness is increasing, Corina now rarely leaves her home. Moving her life’s art and words online is proving to be a more accessible and sustainable format. It gives her a voice in the world.
The ‘Invisible Octopus’ theme was developed during a mentoring time with Dr. Emma Fisher, funded by Arts & Disability Ireland's ‘Connect’. Shadow puppetry proved to be a perfect example of a fully accessible art-form within her increasingly restricted life. Corina discovered an ability to cut intricate paper images of her world. By placing these on an overhead projector she conjures up snippets of her hermit world in short spells of time. These early explorations became the backdrop for the ‘Invisible Octopus’ video-poem.
The onset of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) in 1998 changed Corina’s life and art practice. The portrayal of life around her changed into exploring the inner world of illness. It was not a journey she had intended to make, but ultimately one that has brought her amazing creative opportunities. This includes finding her voice as a writer, arts facilitator, and internationally recognized advocate and lecturer on puppetry, disability, & health.
As her illness is increasing, Corina now rarely leaves her home. Moving her life’s art and words online is proving to be a more accessible and sustainable format. It gives her a voice in the world.
The ‘Invisible Octopus’ theme was developed during a mentoring time with Dr. Emma Fisher, funded by Arts & Disability Ireland's ‘Connect’. Shadow puppetry proved to be a perfect example of a fully accessible art-form within her increasingly restricted life. Corina discovered an ability to cut intricate paper images of her world. By placing these on an overhead projector she conjures up snippets of her hermit world in short spells of time. These early explorations became the backdrop for the ‘Invisible Octopus’ video-poem.
DESCRIPTION:
Invisible Octopus
Silhouetted in black on white is a figure seated in a wheelchair under a leafless tree with a bird perched on her finger. A black net descends over the figure. On the right in black letters reads “Invisible Octopus by Corina Duyn”.
On a black background is the profile of a white face. Inside the head a crouched black figure sits on a perch in a fetal position. One hand holds a bird.
A black silhouette of a wheelchair and seated figure is engulfed by black netting.
A black figure lays in a bed with an empty wheelchair to the right. Silhouettes of a tree and plants loom above and around her. One bird flies towards the tree and another perches at the foot of the bed.
A black leafless tree is on the left with a person seated in a wheelchair underneath. In the middle, a standing figure reaches toward the person, and she reaches back. On the right is the profile of an empty wheelchair.
A white head in profile on a black background is filled with black bars and the silhouettes of birds.
Black hands reach up from the bottom to catch a person falling in a net. The profile of a black face looks on from the bottom right.
In the center is the silhouette of a house on top of a kneeling figure. A bird perches on the top of the house and two other birds fly off to the right. On the left is a black tree.
A black silhouetted person hovers face down, supported by birds in flight. A smaller bird perches on the person’s back. Underneath the figure and birds is a net and on the right is a treetop.
The silhouette of a hand holds up a clock surrounded by gears and exploding parts. The profile of a face looks on from the right.
A figure seated under a tree holds a bird in an up-stretched hand. More birds fly towards the tree from the right. One bird sits above the figure on a branch and two others sit at her feet.
A black figure straddles a feather and a bird sits beside her. Black birds fly above them both.
B & W photograph of a woman’s head on a plaid pillow. She has pale skin, dark hair and eyes, and her lips are held tightly shut. On the bottom right reads Corina Duyn, www.corinaduyn.com.
A dark figure perches in a fetal position in a tree, brightly outlined in white.
-description by A. Laura Brody
Silhouetted in black on white is a figure seated in a wheelchair under a leafless tree with a bird perched on her finger. A black net descends over the figure. On the right in black letters reads “Invisible Octopus by Corina Duyn”.
On a black background is the profile of a white face. Inside the head a crouched black figure sits on a perch in a fetal position. One hand holds a bird.
A black silhouette of a wheelchair and seated figure is engulfed by black netting.
A black figure lays in a bed with an empty wheelchair to the right. Silhouettes of a tree and plants loom above and around her. One bird flies towards the tree and another perches at the foot of the bed.
A black leafless tree is on the left with a person seated in a wheelchair underneath. In the middle, a standing figure reaches toward the person, and she reaches back. On the right is the profile of an empty wheelchair.
A white head in profile on a black background is filled with black bars and the silhouettes of birds.
Black hands reach up from the bottom to catch a person falling in a net. The profile of a black face looks on from the bottom right.
In the center is the silhouette of a house on top of a kneeling figure. A bird perches on the top of the house and two other birds fly off to the right. On the left is a black tree.
A black silhouetted person hovers face down, supported by birds in flight. A smaller bird perches on the person’s back. Underneath the figure and birds is a net and on the right is a treetop.
The silhouette of a hand holds up a clock surrounded by gears and exploding parts. The profile of a face looks on from the right.
A figure seated under a tree holds a bird in an up-stretched hand. More birds fly towards the tree from the right. One bird sits above the figure on a branch and two others sit at her feet.
A black figure straddles a feather and a bird sits beside her. Black birds fly above them both.
B & W photograph of a woman’s head on a plaid pillow. She has pale skin, dark hair and eyes, and her lips are held tightly shut. On the bottom right reads Corina Duyn, www.corinaduyn.com.
A dark figure perches in a fetal position in a tree, brightly outlined in white.
-description by A. Laura Brody
Opulent Mobility by A. Laura Brody is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
The Opulent Mobility license refers to the exhibit and its audio descriptions. Individual artworks are the property of the individual artists.