The photographs from Suryodarmo’s Tomorrow, As Purposed series, which began as a dance theatre piece inspired by Macbeth and the power of prophetical speech. In Shakespeare’s play, the three sisters told Macbeth that he was part of two prophecies, the first of which came through immediately after the sisters’ disappearance. Encouraged by Lady Macbeth, he plotted his way to fulfil the second prophecy, which became his curse and resulted in his madness.
In framing specific acts or motions of the choreography in photography, Suryodarmo invites viewers to observe slowly and discover, or question, the bodily content. The process of dance and movement has often cemented, or irreversibly changed, the inner psyche of the practitioner. The provocative actions captured by her camera’s lens reveal internal struggle as a consequence of meaningful physical agitation, a struggle that is recognisable as the struggle for power and the means of achieving it.
