The Severed Wing at Derby QUAD

Venue: QUAD, Derby
When: Thursday 27 November 18:30
(Run time 40 mins followed by 10 min behind-the-scenes film)
Booking: Book via QUAD

Disabled, queer self-portrait artist Corinne has spent the past six years confined to bed due to chronic illness. From this 2m x 1.5m place of confinement, they have created The Severed Wing - a poetic live art performance exploring their lived experience of disability and isolation.

Performed entirely from their bed, audiences witness Corinne grow wings, transform into a bird and escape into the woods outside their window. Using multiple camera feeds, projection and immersive sound design, the performance is streamed in real time into theatre, performance and gallery spaces, creating an intimate live encounter between one physical space and another.

Corinne said, “I live by the woods and hear birdsong from my bedroom window daily. Watch me, a disabled artist confined to bed, transform into a bird - my true self - and escape my confinement. ​​​​​​​

I hope to spark conversations on how housebound artists like myself can share live work remotely — and help shape a more inclusive, equitable future for the arts.”

Antonia Beck, Senior Artist Development Producer at Lowry, Salford said “The Severed Wing exemplifies the kind of ambitious, interdisciplinary work we’re proud to support at Lowry. It’s a vital statement about the leadership of disabled artists in contemporary performance - technically bold, creatively expansive, and deeply rooted in lived experience. Championing this kind of practice is central to our commitment to inclusive artist development and to presenting work that challenges, excites, and connects artists and audiences.” ​​​​​​​

The Severed Wing is commissioned by Lowry supported using public funding from Arts Council England, alongside support from QUAD, Attenborough Arts Centre and Art Riot Collective in partnership with #CovConnects. Additional support from DASH (Disability Arts in Shropshire) and Outside In.

About Corinne

Corinne is a disabled, queer, self-portrait artist and curator who creates work from their 2 by 1.5 metre artistic studio, their bed. Ill since childhood, Corinne’s health has confined them almost entirely to bed for the last six years. Since the COVID-19 pandemic opened new possibilities for remote working, Corinne has embraced live digital performance as a way to create, connect, and challenge the barriers faced by disabled artists. Supported by Outside In, a platform for artists who encounter significant barriers to the art world due to health, disability, social circumstance, or isolation, Corinne curated Taking Flight (2022), Paradise Row Gallery, Mayfair; exhibited in Signs (2021), Compton Verney; featured in the book ‘Outside In: Exploring the Margins of Art’ (2023) by Outside In Founder and Director Marc Steene OBE; had work acquired by The New Art Gallery Walsall which was exhibited in their Twenty Twenty Collection – a collection of new works by 30 West Midlands’ based artists, and their individual responses to the significant events that shaped 2020.

Corinne featured in the BBC Radio 4 series, Sketches: Stories of Art and People, a showcase of stories about the meaning of art in people’s lives, and in 2024 was nominated for the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s ‘Awards for Artists’. Corinne is a member of Art Riot Collective, a supported studio in Coventry and attends supported studio sessions remotely from their bed/ bed studio.