© Stephanie Elaine Black , 'Dowry', SPILL Festival of Performance 2014, photographs by Mafe Valen.
“Free from adornment, Black lets down her hair. Receiving what looks like red earth, she hurls the crimson grit upon herself in a violent, forceful fashion, not unlike a soldier who uses a sword to impale himself. There now stands before us now the primal, unfettered woman …far removed as can be from the bound, gilded woman who stood there previously.”
Michael Davis 2015, Female Arts, Camden Peoples Theatre, Calm Down Dear, London
“I am given a chain which is both jewellery and a symbol of enslavement. I am adrift in a featureless room, floating through a sexual transaction.”
Garth Vile, The Vile Blog, Arches Live 2014, published 14/09/14
“Transference, identity & ritual all play part in Stephanie Elaine Black’s powerful Dowry.”
Lyn Gardner, The Guardian, SPILL 2014, tweet posted 2/11/14
“@steph_e_black’s #Dowry is tender, unsettling, liberating and oppressive. All in 15 mins! One of the very best works at @SPILL_Festival”
Doug Coombes, In Suffolk, SPILL 2014, tweet posted 1/11/14
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