Vincent Dance Theatre’s Home Truths. Copyright VDT / Credit Art of Attachment – photo credit Bosie Vincent

Art of Attachment Film Installation

Facilitated Screenings | 2021

About

TOPICS & THEMES
  • Motherhood
  • Parenting
  • Attachment
  • Substance Misuse
  • Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG)

Art Of Attachment Film Installation explores notions of home, family and belonging and considers the impact of trauma on women’s lives. The work makes explicit the devastating impact of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and explores the complex bond between substance misusing mothers and their children, celebrating the everyday hope, resilience and resolve of those overcoming childhood adversity, whose stories demand to be seen and heard.

Art Of Attachment Film Installation is staged across two large TV screens, with 5 smaller screens providing interviews with the professional and non-professional collaborators involved. resource materials and interviews. The work is watched seated around several large wooden trestle tables, with self-regulating craft activities taking place around the table during and after watching the work along with facilitated discussions.

The film content of Art of Attachment can be screened whole or broken into parts as part of VDT’s CPD training offers around Safeguarding and socially engaged choreographic practice. It has been applied in creative health, social work and dance training Higher Education trianing contexts, for example.

Facilitated screenings offer astudents or participants an opportunity to engage in creative practice as a tool for self-reflection, self-care and self-expression, both for the participants themselves and the clients they work with.

What is a facilitated screening?
A Facilitated Screening of VDT’s Art of Attachment, screens the  dance theatre production on film that highlights the lived experience and stories of four women in recovery from substance misuse and domestic abuse, with accompanying discussions and activities to reflect on the work and its themes.

Who is it for?
Social Work, Probation, Creative Health, Dance, Dance in Education undergraduates and MA students and practitioners.

ART OF ATTACHMENT was originally commissioned by Oasis Project and funded by Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England Lottery Funding, supported by academic collaborator Dr Cath Lambert, Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick, funded by an ESRC Impact Acceleration Award, supported by the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender at the University of Warwick and by Arts Council England, through VDT’s regular National Portfolio Organisation funding.

Credits

Directed and Designed by

Film Maker

Soundtrack by

Text by

Wendy Houstoun

Performed by

, , Vikki, Annette, Leah with Anna Clasper understudying for Louise.

Videos

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Art of Attachment - Explained

Explore this production

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Interview with Annette: Reflections on making Art of Attachment
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Interview with Vikki: Reflections on making Art of Attachment
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Interview with Leah: Reflections on making Art of Attachment

Photos

Art installation with a large wooden table and art supplies. Multiple screens display portraits and videos. A pile of chairs forms a sculpture, creating an intriguing, thoughtful atmosphere.
A wooden table with six screens displays different videos. Headphones are beneath each screen. Simple chairs are placed in a calm, well-lit room.
Craft table with scattered papers, markers, and a display screen in the background. Stacked chairs create a cluttered, busy atmosphere.
Room with six monitors on a wooden wall, each with headphones, displaying different videos. Wooden tables and chairs create a relaxed, educational ambiance.
An old carousel horse with a worn saddle sits atop wooden crates. Colourful party ribbons and a glass bottle create a nostalgic, festive atmosphere.
A room with wooden walls and floor features a long wooden table with chairs. Six screens and headphones line one wall, suggesting a multimedia setup.
A chalkboard displays a timeline with hand-drawn illustrations for life events: birth, getting a sister, birthday, flat fire, starting school and dance, and moving house.
Wooden trunk labelled "Library" containing various books and a printed paper. The scene is cosy and rustic, with a bottle of hand sanitizer nearby.
Three monitors are mounted on a wooden wall, each displaying different videos. Below them, headphones and informational papers are neatly arranged.
Two large screens display close-up portraits of serious-faced women speaking. A pile of wooden chairs and a desk with headphones sits nearby, creating an intense and contemplative atmosphere.
A group of people wearing headphones are seated around a table in a dimly lit room, facing a screen displaying a speaker. The atmosphere is focused and attentive.
A cosy room with a large blackboard displaying whimsical chalk drawings and a life timeline. A wooden table holds books and a basket labelled "Library."
Two side-by-side screens display portraits of women with neutral expressions against a white background, mounted on a wooden wall.
Books on trauma and self-help stand upright on a wooden shelf, with colourful bunting in the background, conveying a thoughtful and supportive tone.
A person wearing headphones sits at a table viewing a dual-screen display with images of a woman working with wood, creating an introspective atmosphere.
A wooden table with art and craft supplies, including scissors, markers, paper, headphones, and small containers. The setup suggests a creative workshop.
A blackboard displays "#VDTHomeTruths" with 30 small paper cut-out houses arranged neatly. The tone is reflective, highlighting home concepts and truths.
A wooden table against a plywood wall holds papers, folders, hand sanitizer, wipes, and tape. Below, boxes contain clamps and coiled cords, suggesting a workspace.
Two wooden chairs are placed in front of a wall with two large screens. One shows a person’s blurred figure, and the other shows a woman looking thoughtful.
Split screens show two women reading. The left screen captures an engaged speaker at a microphone. The right screen shows a reflective woman with people sleeping in the background, evoking a contemplative mood.
A hand holds a small paper craft shaped like a house with a triangular roof and windows, against a plain wall, evoking a playful, creative tone.
A plastic baby doll with marked skin in a diaper lies on a wooden table next to a bottle and rope. The scene seems unsettling and tense.
Seven people wearing headphones sit at a wooden table, watching multiple screens displaying various people. The atmosphere is focused and engaged.
People wearing headphones and masks sit around a wooden table in a dimly lit room with TV screens on the walls and a stack of chairs in the corner.
Wooden desks with computers and headphones line a room. Each screen displays a person speaking. Papers and hand sanitizer are placed on the desks. Calm atmosphere.

Press

“Agonisingly visceral, and often beyond words… a piece about love as an enduring source of hope”

The Psychologist