You are warmly invited to the first ‘scratch’ showing of a collaborative performance project that originates in the work of the late nineteenth-century ghost story writer, aesthetic theoretician and queer thinker, Vernon Lee.

The short performance, which explores the question: “What does art do to (and with) our bodies?”, will be followed by a panel discussion between Dr Carolyn Burdett, whose work on Vernon Lee, late nineteenth-century experimental aesthetics, and ‘empathy’ initiated the project; Professor Hilary Fraser, author of Women Writing Art History in the Nineteenth Century: Looking Like a Woman; and Professor Matt Longo, Director of Birkbeck’s BodyLab, who studies the mental representation of our bodies and how our bodies shape our perceptions.

They will be joined by the performance project’s Director, Professor Rob Swain, and writer, Nicola Baldwin.