material / rearranged / to / be is a performance installation work produced by Siobhan Davies Dance. Comprised of multiple contributions by choreographers, visual artists and designers, it includes performance, film projection, and sculptural objects that are presented as an ever-changing arrangement. Exploring our bodies’ capacity to communicate, the work is inspired by the practices of the art historian Aby Warburg who collected diverse images of human gestures and poses from different times and places, positioning them side by side to allow new relationships to emerge.

This publication includes archival images from the Warburg Institute and other sources that have provided inspiration to the artists during the making process, an introduction to the work by choreographer Siobhan Davies, a conversation between the Warburg Institute and Siobhan Davies Dance, alongside texts by artist Jeremy Millar, choreographer Jonathan Burrows, and Siobhan Davies Dance programme director, Lauren A Wright.

material / rearranged / to / be was first performed in the Barbican Curve Gallery in January 2017.