|
| UltraViolet BodyArt |
|
n 1969 the anarchic North American drama group "Living Theatre" toured a presentation
entitled "Paradise Now" in which the cast shouted their lines while removing their clothes:
I am not allowed to travel without a passport.
I cannot travel freely.
I cannot move about at will!
I am separated from my fellow man. My boundaries are set arbitrarily by others.
The gates of paradise are closed to me.
I am not allowed to smoke marijuana.
I am not allowed to take my clothes off.
The body itself, that of which we are made, is taboo.
We are ashamed of that which is most beautiful.
We are afraid of that which is most beautiful.
We may not act naturally towards one another. The culture represses love.
By this time the cast would have reached their undergarments and the police would move in to arrest them.
I am not allowed to take my clothes off.
I am outside the gates of paradise.
Tragically, many of the rules enforced on us stem from, or pander to, misnurtured and warped minds. Those questioning of the rationality (let alone the ethicality) of the governments prohibitionary stance on recreational and meditational drug use should realise that there is simply no rationality to be found within a system that criminalises the human body.
Body painting is a primitive expression of joy and spontaneity that celebrates the body aesthetic and probes the irrationality of the nudity taboo. Suppressed for generations, it is now popular at raves and imminently fashionable.
Shades of unnatural hue are by definition colours of the spirit.
In the centuries before floureescent inks and television screens, sunlight through stained glass provided the principle western experience
of truly bright colours, usually in a religious context.
Ultra violet body painting may be regarded as the pagoshamanic reclamation of divine colour.
As dance event face and body painters, Cambridge UV BodyArt aim to provide a combination
of decoration, mystic empowerment, and attentiveness to those allowing themselves
to be truly human within the sacred space that is true rave.
Still photography can only hint at the dynamic poetry of the body of a dancer.
Nor as yet can photography capture the ultra-bright colours perceived under the ultra violet
(aka "black") light.
Most of the images on this site result from extended painting sessions and
controlled lighting.
Ultra Violet photography is currently a delicate alchemy but improoving digital
photographic technology will hopefully make it far more accessible.