Artist Statement
I thrive when I follow a beginner mindset. Then, I have complete confidence that anything is possible and that people will want to get involved. Hey, thanks for reading my website, I hope you like what I’ve done with the place! And sure, it’s not perfect, but if you’d seen it before… And I believe that this naiveté, more than any discernible concrete skill has served my practice.
Over the past fifteen years, my artistic work has spanned the gamut from intimate one-on-one performances to large-scale multidisciplinary spectacles. The work is often site-specific and has been showcased within theatre, dance, music, film, television, new media and visual art contexts as well as non-art venues such as the Ontario Science Centre, the Design Exchange and a variety of public spaces.
I’m an artistic adventurer interested in all forms of expression. Today, there is an ever-expanding list of aesthetic approaches – it seems that nothing goes away, no matter how obscure, only more “aesthetic possibility” is added to the canon. There are those artists who deepen their practice through specialization and those who thrive on the complexity. I would be the latter.
Content dictates my form. My approach combines technical rigour with a low-budget DIY sensibility. The performance quality varies with each project and can range from a heightened naturalism (or casualness) to extremely stylized choreography. There is usually a magical confluence between rigidity and flexibility, when these two opposites become indistinguishable and the performance just responds directly to the moment. Thematically, I am drawn to personal stories in order to express the universal. I am fascinated by the manifestations of collective unconscious within our global connectivity, so I like to situate an individual’s story within this larger context. My work focuses on the power of individual transformation to effect change in community, country and the world. In particular, I return to themes of hope, joy and resilience.
Cathy Gordon is a multidisciplinary artist and programmer living and working in Toronto. She is the co-director of the artist-run dance centre hub14 art and performance works. She was the co-curator for Free Fall (2008 & 2010) with Artistic Director, Franco Boni. Free Fall is a national festival of contemporary performance produced by The Theatre Centre in partnership with Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage.