Nancy Clayton is a visual artist and dancer based in London. Her large-scale drawings and paintings are informed by her experience and observation of the body in motion. These complex figurative compositions balance the weight and momentary flight of the body, while capturing the emotional intensity shared through collaborative performance. Motivated by the potential for art to spark societal change, Clayton prioritises working with other Disabled artists to place these shared experiences at the centre of her practice. 

Clayton begins a new body of work by creating a framework through which to bring people together. Here, she has used a large, light-filled studio, in which her naturally dyed textiles are hung on free-standing structures to create a backdrop for her co-created, multidisciplinary work. No attempts are made to hide the temporality of the space, clamps and tripods holding the fabric together and spotlights and wires from the filmmaking process frame this as an exclusive peek behind the curtain. 

Performances by dancer Sophia Moore and actor and activist Paul Christian are documented using film and photography. Clayton positions herself throughout this documentation, rhythmically responding to the performances through dance, drawing and painting. Through the resulting works on paper, Clayton isolates fleeting movements of the Disabled body which represent power for her and her fellow artists. A singular leg supported by mobility aids, hands gripping a lectern during a passionate speech, and a vigorous double-legged kick are monumentalised in still image. The works reveal intimate, embodied knowledge of the fluidity of the body and how this is translated through the gestural application of paint.  

Clayton embraces materials that reflect her commitment to sustainability, using botanical dye bundle techniques to create her vibrant textiles backdrops and natural paints to develop her observations into wider compositions. Protecting natural resources and ecosystems, and valuing people and materials are central to her thinking. Clayton has stated that her work is about creating a new world, driven by the need for Disability justice. For Bodies Showing Power we are invited into a maze of floor-to-ceiling structures adorned with textiles and images representing acts of joy and resistance. Evocative of the make-shift studio environment created for her collaborations, the installation celebrates rough edges, visible joins and fluid brushstrokes, unveiling the reality of what it means to build something from the ground up, and to collectively imagine equitable ecosystems and futures.

This exhibition was co-produced by Artlink Hull | 87 Gallery and Intoart. 

Artlink Hull | 87 Gallery exists to provide meaningful creative pathways for people who have not always had access to them. Through championing emerging artists, the exhibition programme connects local audiences with bold ideas and exceptional artistic practice, and contributes to a creative ecosystem in which talent can flourish. 

Intoart is a pioneering visual arts organisation committed to equity, visibility and social justice, led by the creative ambition of learning disabled and autistic people as artists and designers.