Jo Bannon

I am an artist working in performance, choreography and film. My practice is concerned with how our specific bodies, identities and sensory perceptions impact how we experience the world around us, and how this sensory experience can or cannot be conveyed. This is informed by my experience of visual impairment and my interest in the particularity of our sensory systems.

My work is led by form and so manifests in various mediums including intimate encounters designed for single or small audiences, staged performance, dance, film and installation. My work is guided by my ongoing fascination with objects, visual perception and how strange the ordinary world really is.

I have presented work in the UK, Europe, South America, USA, China, South Korea and Australia. Selected works include The Dirty Work (2026) Sleight of Hand (2024) Passing (2022). I also work as a dramaturg and writer and am a member of artist collective Interval.

Residency plans:

‘The Nerve of It’ is an immersive theatrical experience for the nervous system, which deprioritises sight and centres auditory and sensory experience. The work will be experienced as an installation performance in near-darkness, where audiences are invited into a shared environment where their bodies actively shape the space.

Using sensing technologies, the installation captures subtle anatomical signals, such as breath rate, heart rate and body temperature, and translates them into responsive changes in sound, light and atmosphere. As a result, the environment is continuously co-created in real time, revealing an invisible network of connection between participants. Through this audiences are connected to their own and the collective nervous system.

During the LEVEL residency we will creatively explore the sound world of the work including; composition, ASMR sound, audio description and vagal nerve sound frequency.