Katherine O’Malley’s BIAS at The Complex was a visually weighty, aesthetic piece. The conceptual premise of the work, as explained in the programme, is O’Malley’s exploration of her own biases and how these influence her daily decisions. But the piece stands for itself, without this context. Framed by three projections of Mark Linnane’s impeccable filming showing O’Malley in different natural settings (Sandymount Strand, Poolbeg lighthouse, a gorse patch in a field), the dancer performs a sequence of sinuous movements, echoed by her projected self in a series of swooping loops as she runs through the space on the same track in a continuous cycle. The complexity of the timing, the precariousness of moving in a space that is uneven of floor and obstructed by pillars, is handled lightly, and with grace. Bias is a well-formed thing, a spacious object for contemplation, a delight for the eye.
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