You may have never heard the name David Joseph Wesley, but you’ve almost certainly heard his music. He creates film, tv, and video game music and has even been nominated for a Grammy award. His music is a wild mix of styles and genres but often works with high powered synthesizers such as the Prophet […]
Gillian Performs to Video Game Music by David Joseph Wesley Read More »
You’ve probably heard, somewhere down the line, about the myth of Sisyphus. The poor Greek hero, bound forever to an impossible task that will never be complete. “Get the stone up the hill,” they said, “it’ll be easy, they said!” I always found that myth fascinating, and of course, I’m not the only one. Perhaps
The Myth of Sisyphus and a very locked door Read More »
Catching Light is a collaboration between Croatian sculptor Milivoj Šegan and American performer Gillian Rhodes. Milivoj’s digital light paintings of ‘lumino mobile’ are created by putting light in hand-created terracotta sculptures and then photographed with long exposures. Gillian then projected the results onto a white screen and danced in and out of the projections. Finally,
Catching Light International Collaboration Read More »
I was so excited to turn 30 last year. My 20s were fabulous, but somehow 30 just seemed like it would be more sorted, less figuring out and more doing and growing. Well – 30 didn’t quite live up to its promises, but let’s just say it was a rough start and assume it will
31 Lessons for 31 years Read More »
There is no disguise: all these faces are mine. All These Faces Are Mine is a collaborative photography exhibition bringing together photographer Moin Anjum, makeup artist Iftikhar ul Hassan, and The Performer. The series deals with themes of gender identity, drag, and gender presentation. The exhibition presents four characters: two which are ‘typically’ male and
All These Faces Are Mine Read More »
Between chaos and climate change, pollution and pandemics, it’s getting harder and harder to breathe. I made this video as a little reminder of blue skies and calm minds – because to breathe easy, we also have to be easy. Shot on my rooftop in Lahore, Pakistan with my J2 Osmo Pocket and edited myself.
Breathe: Dance For Climate Change Read More »
About a month ago, I made a dance for my dad for his birthday. While I was doing that, I rediscovered all the recordings from his live concert back in 2008/9 or so. The concert was a wild mix of styles, some covers but lots and lots of original songs. One of the songs in
Happily Ever After: New Creative Video Featuring My Dad’s Music Read More »
On February 28th, 2021, I presented an evening length solo performance in three acts. The performance featured 3 of my most acclaimed solos, Pierrot, Big Universe Small Human, and With Love From Gillian. I have performed the first two in multiple countries including France and South Korea. This was the first time in my career
Gallery: With Love From Gillian Premiere Read More »
I could say a bunch of stuff for my father that everyone says. Things like, he always supported me – and he did. Things like, he was always there for me – and he was. I was a daddy’s girl from the beginning, and he was always there to make me dissolve into helpless laughter.
For My Father, On His Birthday Read More »
Once upon a time, there was a great sorcerer. This sorcerer had everything anyone could possibly desire, wealth, power, fame. One of his favorite things was his collection of creatures as vast and as wide as the universe. But despite everything, he was not satisfied, because his collection lacked one thing. While his glass cages
All This Useless Beauty Read More »
I come in peace, but not meekly. My hands are open and unarmed; I reach them but do not cover them in the colors of the soil that breathes through the pores of culture and cries poetry into the dailyness of what is and must. I come in peace, but not meekly; I neutralize and
I Come In Peace, But Not Meekly Read More »
The End of Wandering was one of those pieces where I had no idea what I was making throughout the whole process. Honestly, I still don’t know what I made, but I know that it absolutely intrigues me. When I was planning my trip back to the USA, I knew I wanted to visit Copper
The End of Wandering: The Making Of Read More »
This year I somehow managed to sign myself up to create and host a weekly live sciart talk show on astronomy and art. Here’s the behind the scenes story on how it all happened! I stumbled into the CosmoQuest community by accident. It all started at the beginning of the year when I went looking
SciArt Talk Show for CosmoQuest Community Coffee Read More »
One of the themes that has been coming up recently in my life is the need to talk about art. It’s something that is definitely lacking in Pakistan. It only happens about once a year at the Lahore Literacy Festival, and the occasional conference. I’ve been working on my own avenues to expand this. For
Artistically Speaking: A New Series with Thinker Guide Read More »
First Contact is a multimedia performance, blending digital light paintings projected onto the body. It is an experiment more than anything, but the story behind it is full of odd connections and good timing. Unexpected Collaborations One of the things that happened during the lockdown was that I found myself hosting a live show on
First Contact: A Collaboration with Milivoj Šegan Read More »
When I lived in Cambodia, I heard a lot about “fusion” pieces when international choreographers came and worked with Cambodian dancers. Fusion is an exciting word and promises something new and innovative. The Holy Grail of cross cultural choreography, one could say. But there are post-colonial approaches to this, and there are colonial approaches. The
Post-Colonial Approaches to Cultural Fusion Read More »
The body moves quickly, but the soul is slow, catching up only after time. There is obviously more to say about cultural shifts. Today, I’m just talking about the wormhole. In astronomy, a wormhole is a theoretical structure that connects different places of the universe through a shorter “tunnel” of spacetime. Most astrophysicists agree that
The Wormhole: Reflections on Deep Cultural Shifts Read More »
Excerpt of The Glitch: A science fiction short story. Read the full story in my short story collection! Hex and me weren’t rich, never had been. We lived in the slums by the docks, rumbling all night as the rockets fired, taking their payloads to the artificial moons and the other planets. I guess I
The Glitch: A Science Fiction Short Story Read More »
I have always loved art and astronomy. When I was little, I loved reading Seymour Simon’s picture books about the planets. When my sisters and I started a newsletter called “Girls Express” for our homeschooling, I researched and wrote articles about each of the planets. I read The Elegant Universe at thirteen and taught a
Explorer Ready (Or Not): Art and Astronomy Read More »
When the lockdown hit, I was in the fragile and fraught liftoff stages of getting my own production off the ground. I was about to lock a huge sponsor, I had confirmed my cast, and rehearsals were two weeks into full swing. Slowly, things were closing down but I wanted to push ahead. I knew
Quarantine Qreations: Performing in Lockdown Read More »
Vida and The Void was performed for a special edition of Sway With Us at Olomopolo. The occasion was Remembering Jahanara, in memory of a young dancer who was killed. The piece was about someone coming to terms with their own death. All photo credits to Omar Rehman. Excerpts from the live performance:
Vida and The Void – Gallery Read More »
With Love From Gillian is a piece about courage and loss and resilience – but mostly, it’s a piece about performance. It is a piece that requires me to give all of myself to the audience – everything that I am as a storyteller, performer, and dancer. Given with love, but lost all the same.
With Love From Gillian – Gallery Read More »
When I first came to Pakistan in 2018, I had the opportunity to shoot with award winning photographer Ashna Khan. We worked on the concept together. Here are the images!
Editorial Shoot with Ashna Khan: Gallery Read More »
