Art show checks out for Simon

A Teesside University lecturer and artist is taking his world renowned exhibition that featured as part of the Paralympics, on tour to the Czech Republic.

Simon McKeown, a reader in post-production and animation will be showing his work at DOX Centre in Prague, the largest contemporary arts centre in the Czech Republic.

Motion Disabled Unlimited is a stunning digital installation which uses animation to show how disabled athletes move – it was an integral part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

One of Simon’s models for the animated production was Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson who was born with spina bifida and was one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK. Baroness Grey-Thompson is also an honorary Doctor of Laws at Teesside University.

Viewers are given the opportunity to watch a series of motion capture based work featuring paralympians demonstrating their sport. It gives people the chance to reflect and see what it is like to walk and jump without legs or sail with one arm.

A large inflatable thalidomide sculpture which forms an eye-catching part of the exhibition will also feature in Prague where Simon will be visiting and presenting to Prague College who are partners with Teesside University.

Disabled by Normality will run at DOX Centre for Contemporary Art from 23 May to 16 September and addresses the issue of ‘handicap’, the concept of ‘normality’ and their mutual relationship. The project is being run in partnership with the Jedlicka Institute, the largest institution for physically disabled young people in the Czech Republic – celebrating its 100th anniversary.

The exhibition and is broken into seven sections including: Disability Stereotypes; Objectification and Medicalisation of Disability; Historiy of Disability: The Würtz Collection; Historical Transformations of an Institution: The Jedlicka Institute; Institutional Narratives; Moral Risk; and The Body as a Limit: Fashion, Design, Prosthetics and the Cyborg.

The artists featuring alongside Simon are Pauline Boudry (CHE) & Renate Lorenz (GER), Jon Crispin (USA), Jennifer Crupi (USA), Danica Dakic (BiH), Helen Dowling (UK), Bob Flanagan (USA), Martin Herman Frys (CZ), Douglas Gordon (UK), Ju Gosling (UK), Sara Hendren (USA), Bart Hess (NLD), Wendy Jacob (USA), Floris Kaayk (NLD), Robert Kusmirowski (POL), Noemi Lakmaier (AUT), Kamil Lhoták (CZ), Štepán Lipovský (CZ), Simon Mckeown (UK), Tomáš Nosil (CZ), Joanna Pawlik (POL), Carrie Sandahl (USA), Stelarc (AUS), Jana Sterbak (CAN), Bethany Stevens (USA), Javier Téllez (VEN), WPA Collective - Susan Nussbaum, Salome Chasnoff, Carrie Sandahl, Alyson Patsavas (USA), Sandie Yi (TWN) a Artur Zmijewski (POL).

Simon, who is himself disabled, has worked at Teesside University since 2004 in the School of Computing. He was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a condition causing extremely fragile bones. 'I’ve probably broken over 100 bones,' he reflects. 'But my condition has made me what I am. It has made me artistic and patient and I have grown and developed what I do because of this.'

Simon says: 'People are often embarrassed to look at people with disabilities and there is still a cultural taboo around disability which is a big issue in the UK. This is an opportunity to look, see and be fascinated by beautiful motions and bodies and break that taboo. Disability is unique, an exciting part of the fabric of our society and Motion Disabled Unlimited is a chance see, without embarrassment the way people with disabilities use their bodies in sport and day to day life.’

Jaroslav Andel, the exhibition curator and artistic director of DOX, said: ‘We are delighted that Simon can join this exhibition of internationally acclaimed artists. This is an important exhibition in which attempt to reveal how the notions of normality and disability affect our lives either by limiting us or, on the contrary, offering an advantage.’

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