I Want To Dance In The Grass

I Want To Dance In The Grass. 2024. Woodblock print on Japanese paper. 1.6m x 1.6m. Performed at Modern Art Oxford.

Created in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Robin Gallardo-Parsons, musician Becci Pamely-Bast, and artist Sarah Catterall. 

In this performance, artist Alice Hackney weaves traditions of woodblock printing and European folk dance to explore the grief she sometimes feels for her disabled body. When she is sick, she longs for the outdoors – imagining grass growing into her bedroom through the floor, and the outdoors coming inside to meet her. For this performance, she has carved floorboards with patterns of grass, flowers, weeds and worms that will be printed with dancing feet. The dances and accompanying music take inspiration from Continental European folk practices.