Manchester Metropolitan University

Axis Arts Centre Presents: Leen Dewilde: String Section

Five empty wooden chairs, of no particular style, in a line in a gallery. We (the audience) wait. Five women walk into the room carrying crosscut handsaws. They each stand beside a chair, bow and sit down.

Then they start to saw into the legs of the chairs that they are sitting on. Each has their own rhythm, each starts on a different leg, each has their own style. Never leaving the chair their sitting position changes, naturally, shifting their weight away or towards the viewers and each other.

The piece ebbs and flows, rises and falls. The audience are free to come and go, though it’s pleasing to stay where you are, sitting comfortably in your own chair, knowing that yours at least will remain stable. And when they’ve finished and gone, only the lopsided chairs, the bits of wood and the sawdust remain.

For performance times please visit www.axisartscentre.org.uk.

Leen Dewilde is a Belgian artist who works mostly in dance, performance and installation.