Slow Dive

Slow Dive is an auto-fictography and queer coming-of-age tale spanning the course of 20 years that asks “What do our bodies know?” The story is told through a series of vignettes combining experimental documentary and projected animations. A relationship to swimming and themes of water move throughout, drawing on symbolism and parallels to portray embodiment, grief, self-love, and queer identity. Alongside personal narratives and reflections, Slow Dive collages research-based historical accounts such as the colonial roots of the breaststroke, a rumoured secret romance that inspired the writing of The Little Mermaid, and iconic cultural references like the hanky code and the first ‘lesbian’ kiss on Star Trek

Credits

Directed by – Emma Tibaldo

Dramaturgy – Fatma Sarah Elkashef

Production Design – potatoCakes_digital

Original Compositions – Estraven Lupino-Smith

Additional consultation/collaboration/production feedback – Catherine Hahn, Jessica Hickman, Britt Small, Mind of a Snail, Liz Charters

Created in Residencies with OUTstages and Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal

Accessibility

Content warnings: Adult language, sexual content, themes of consent, drugs or alcohol use

Sensory warnings: Haze

About the Artist

Kerri Flannigan (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, and educator currently based on Lkwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ Territories (Victoria, BC), who experiments with methods of research and storytelling through installation, video, and performance. With a background as an experimental animator and zine-maker, Flannigan is interested in investigating different ways of creating and performing narratives, working to create frameworks where the personal is critically connected to a wider sphere of context. Family mythologies, the history of wildfire, queer experiences of place, and swimming have all been subjects of recent works.

Flannigan has shown locally and internationally and was a recipient of the Best English Zine at the Expozine Awards (2011 and 2014); a recent artist-in-residence with Impulse Theatre and The Only Animal; and runner-up to the inaugural Lind Prize.