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A Shipping Container Participates in the High Flying Act ‘Origami’
A dance festival in London is using a folding shipping container in an act called ‘Origami’.
Shipping containers have made a bit of an impact on the world’s aesthetics. Their appearance has come to represent industry and trade which, at one level, should be hidden away unseen but have, in fact, come to be celebrated.
Shipping containers are fashionable for many who prefer the hard edges of modernity to the softer curves of nature. Here at the Gateway Gazette we have covered hundreds of different ways that their post-industrialist architecture is celebrated by shopping malls, trendy food complexes, and hotels that allow people to enjoy their rugged forms as they shop, socialise and travel.
Shipping containers as art
Given that millions of shipping containers ply the world’s oceans, roads and railways around the world everyday, it is somewhat unsurprising therefore that they should be celebrated in art and through art itself. We have looked at different ways this has been done, recently as an art studio in Taiwan.
This time, we have discovered that a London modern dance company has turned a shipping container into a dynamic dance installation. ‘Origami’ it is so named as the shipping container has been cut into pieces and hinged.
The dancer, Satchie Noro, is suspended on wires and over forty minutes moves with the constant motion of the shipping container. The Dance Umbrella website explains, “Inspired by the Japanese art of paper folding, this…free performance is a breath-holding spectacle where the container gently unfurls, creating a geometric performance space where dancer Satchie Noro dangles from its sharp corners and glides on its vertiginous edges. The container is in continuous movement, oblivious to the mesmerising duet it is part of”.
Amongst other locations, the Origami event was held at Trinity Buoy Wharf, which was once central to London’s busy Docklands. Trade from around the British Empire used to pass through this part of London before efficiencies in trade and the size of the ships involved went on to kill off business in the area. One will note a hint of irony then that the Origami set, celebrating the shipping container, is celebrating one of those huge advances in efficiency that would turn Trinity Buoy Wharf into a post-industrial wasteland for many decades. This part of London has seen a rebirth, however, and has been redeveloped into office and residential space for some of the wealthiest people and businesses in the world.
You can see a video of the project just below.
Dance Umbrella
Dance Umbrella offer dance performances around London in England that are designed to draw people into the art, and to showcase cutting edge acts in the city. According to their website, “Dance Umbrella’s mission is to celebrate 21st Century choreography. We do so enthusiastically and collaboratively through an annual, international London festival, through year-round creative learning opportunities for all ages, and by developing choreographic content…”
Art comes in a variety of forms and celebrating the humble shipping container by dance is another way people are thinking of this discreet yet ever so powerful form.
Gateway shipping containers for sale
If you’re thinking of taking the leap into building a new container construction, like a shipping container art space, get in touch with Gateway Container Sales today! We can modify containers onsite or put you in touch with our network of designers, builders and architects. Get a free quote.
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