REVIEW: Bounce Festival 2020
IF YOU look at the pantheon of great artists from Leonardo da Vinci to Toulouse Lautrec and Tracey Emin, normal rules don't apply. Run by the University of Atypicality and now fully online for 2020, the Bounce Festival – which showcases outstanding new work by deaf and disabled artists and creatives – proves that there are no barriers to creativity.
Armour Off by Linda Fearon is a case in point. This film, revealing a woman in a sexy red dress whi is initially hiding behind a black leather chair, illustrates her desire not to be beige, ie disappear in the 'normal' mass, but also her individuality. She is, we sense, somehow disabled, concealed, not young but still vibrant.
She says we want her to be "erased" – we really don't, but the point is made. And when the armour is off and we see the artist, we learn about her life and discover the reality of being always perceived as different when in public – not easy, but in this beautiful piece, we get a sense of both sides, armour on and off, and behind it the universal human condition.
Dyslexic Bitch is also deliciously irreverent. Singer-songwriter Meabh McDonnell has a way with words, although as a sufferer from one of the commonest learning disorders around, she knows they can also be the enemy.
I enjoyed the eponymous, seriously punky song Dyslexic Bitch with the memorable lines: "'sexy bitch, I'm a dyslexic bitch, worlds all over the place. Don't ask me for directions, or you'll end up in a ditch."
The music is slightly Michelle Shocked, the vocabulary rough with songs with titles like Narcissistic W***er. Ms McDonnell accompanies herself well on guitar and indicates the dislocation felt by dyslexic people by showing us her portrait in halves: first the bottom half of the artist in black with pink sparkly shoes, later on her top.
Bringing it all together isn't easy but Bounce helps us feel both the struggle and the creative success. Pyjama Boy, featuring Nigel (21), one of only two people in Northern Ireland suffering from a rare genetic disorder akin to Down's, with autistic traits, is moving.
He comes centre stage and his story, narrated by his invisible mother, is framed by his teacher's introduction. He has graduated from the group Kids in Control to an adult group. He steps "into the spotlight" and from being a pyjama boy, who went straight from school to bed, Nigel is transformed.
The chrysalis moment is very well done. Then another guy launches into Human League's "You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you..." which is moving.
There's much more. If you thought bus shelters were earnest and informative, think again. Artist Joni Marie Augustine has created, via her Redline installation, a clever series of portraits round the city. Beautiful and thought-provoking, the collection shows delicately drawn faces that could easily grace Sky Arts' Portrait Artist series.
:: Bounce 2020 is available via Facebook.com/universityofatypical
