Global screening of Teesside lecturer's exhibition

Famous world landmarks will be illuminated by a synchronized global screening of Teesside lecturer Simon Mckeown’s video installation Motion Disabled.

Landmarks from Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia and from Moscow to Mexico will have the video installation Motion Disabled projected on to the them.

In celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities it will raise awareness about disability rights on Friday December 3 organised by VSA, The International Organisation on Arts and Disability and DaDaFest International 2010.

There will be screenings in 17 countries worldwide, including England and Scotland.

Simon Mckeown is a Reader in Computer Animation with the School of Computing. His groundbreaking Motion Disabled project, supported by a £30,000 People award from the London based Wellcome Trust, creates a unique record of the movements of people with different body forms and movements.

Motion Disabled presents images of different body forms and movement stripped of their social baggage. It allows the viewer to see disability in a neutral way and questions society’s headlong rush to normality, prompting the question: Do we value difference?

14 actors with varying disabilities Simon originally featured 14 actors with varying disabilities. They were ‘motion captured’ while performing a range of activities, from kickboxing to riding a bicycle, and their physically different movements recorded as animation data. This was then mapped on to 3D models – or avatars – to replicate exactly the movements of the original actors using the same technology that created characters such as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. His work for International Day of Disabled People focuses on a new animation with Claire Cunningham, an internationally acclaimed disabled performer.

Simon said: 'In many parts of the world the disabled are among the poorest members of society, and often disenfranchised. So it’s fantastic that my work will help to raise the profile of people with disabilities and ensure they are seen and heard clearly from one side of the globe to the other.'

'I’m very proud to partner with VSA and Dadafest International 2010 to raise awareness about the rights of people with disabilities worldwide. Motion Disabled uses 3D motion capture of real people with disabilities undertaking their everyday activities. My hope is that this art sparks conversations and changes attitudes about disability.'

Simon McKeown - one of Britain’s most experienced 3D animators Soula Antoniou, VSA President, said: 'There are 650 million people with disabilities ? ten percent of the world’s population. We are making a statement that everyone deserves inclusion and access to equal opportunities. This installation by one of Britain’s most experienced 3D animators explores the uniqueness of each person’s physicality and challenges conventional ideas of motion and disability.'

Motion Disabled has been exhibited in the Smithsonian International Gallery in Washington, DC, USA and in South Korea and featured recently on BBC Two’s Culture Show. It is one of the highlights of the Liverpool-based DaDaFest International 2010, the largest Disability and Deaf Arts festival in the world.

Clare Matterson, Director of Medical Humanities and Engagement at the Wellcome Trust, said: 'Motion Disabled is a beautiful celebration of the human body in all of its forms and we are delighted to have been able to support the project. We hope that the live projections around the globe to mark International Day for Persons of Disabilities will go some way to challenging people’s perceptions of disabled and able-bodied.'

The following countries are participating in the synchronised screening of Motion Disabled:

>Argentina – Buenos Aires – VSA Argentina >Australia – West Perth – Disability Services Commission >England – Liverpool – Georges Dock Ventilation Tunnel >England – London via Wellcome Trust >India – Kolkata – Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy >Ireland – Dublin – Arts & Disability Ireland >Iceland – Akureyri – University of Akureyri, Department of Education >Kosovo – Prishtina – The Kosova Art Gallery >Latvia – Riga – Apeirons >Mexico – Mexico City - CONADIS >Russia – Moscow – Perspektiva >Saudi Arabia – Jeddah – The Help Centre (VSA Saudia Arabia) >Scotland – Glasgow Met >Senegal – Louga – Nakku Nattu >Sri Lanka – Colombo – ESCO Rehab Sri Lanka >Uruguay – Montevideo – VSA Uruguay (VSA arts de Uruguay) >USA – Washington (DC) >USA – Los Angeles (CA) – Echo Park Film Centre >USA – Arlington (VA) – VSA (Artisphere) >USA – Claremont (CA) – First Street Gallery Art Centre >USA – Boston (MA) – VSA Massachusetts

A short video will also be available for online viewing on Facebook where people worldwide can post their own videos, share information, and join discussions about disability and the arts.

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