(they/them)
I am a multidisciplinary artist and writer working across live performance, literature and film. My work explores themes of mental health, sexual politics and sex work from a queer, neurodivergent perspective.I co-devised and performed in the critically-acclaimed Sex Worker’s Opera during UK and international tours over a ten year period, and my solo theatre show Dear Mistress was commissioned for development and a UK tour with the Non Applicables in 2020. I have recently been working collectively with the Last Breath Society and other queer live artists, thinking about loss, death, ill health and grief. I am currently co-devising a new performance piece about neurodiversity and sexuality with another drag live artist, Oozing Gloop.My first short film Oubliette was screened at two film festivals in 2023, and my second was shortlisted for the DYSPLA Storymaker’s Residency. I work part time as a Senior Editor for Red Insight, an international independent media platform that is developed by and for sex workers, based in the Netherlands.
DiagNOsis
Audio description
This is the audio described version of Cas Traitors artwork diagNOsis Because Cass has weaved together their own voice and visual aspects, the video will be paused as each scene changes – allowing enough space for what is about to happen to be audio described.
diagNOsis repeated in white down the centre of a black background. The NO in diagnosis is in capital letters.
.09 Auburn hair appears as Cas passes through the frame. Caucasian hands are tying white cotton rope around the branches of a vibrant green bush.
.19 – cas comes into frame with auburn hair, pale skin and a dark green jumpsuit. They are sat down and wind the natural 3 ply rope around their hands before forming neat hitches up their leg with the rope
.48 – the cotton rope wrapped around the branch is pulled tensioning the rope and branch
.52 – cas winds the remaining rope around the hitch on their legs forming a rosette held in place by their finger, as they pull the rope it unwinds around their finger
1.01 – vibrant red rope is being wrapped and tied around a Y shaped trunk of a small tree. The rope is in sharp contrast to the craggled bark of the tree
1-06 Cas twists the tail of the rope on their thigh
107 a view of a sun dappled garden. Layers of trees and bushes with a bare track and a small patch of grass in the foreground in the centre. A bubbling möbius loop – a swirling tube of goldy white with no beginning or end, through the middle you can see cas tying the red rope to the tree
119 Cas tying the vibrant red rope light dappling their jumpsuit
136 – the camera zooms into the well lit tree being bound in crimson rope showing the texture and contrast of rope on tree. They attach a matching rope and start to pull on it
218 black cotton rope pulled between cas’s hands it is wrapped around their arms as they allow the rope to flow between their fingers
245 they start to wrap the rope up their arms to create symmetrical patterns on both arms, interconnecting them. Black cotton rope is wrapped over and over again on pale arms
312 an offering of leaves wrapped in white cotton rope is shown to the bush, Cas starts to pull it apart tearing the leaves as they pull on coils of rope
330 Cas scrunches the mess of leaves and rope in their hands, moving faster and faster to unravel the rope and shred the leaves as they cascade away
335 Cas starts to add more red rope to the tree trunk, before a slimmer möbius loop appears in front of the tree. It’s made of sections of blue and red, with white outlines.. As thicker red moves it shows the skinnier blue sections underneath it. It flashes and pulsates like a beating heart.
354 a closer shot of the tree branch being tied by Cas, filling gaps between the rope with a coil of rope
412 – Cas winds the white rope still with shreds of leaves between their hands. They pull on the rope that is briefly wrapped around their hand like a half glove.
423 the red and blue möbius, but this time with wider blue sections in front of the red tied tree. In the foreground the branches of the tree have white rope draped over it the blue flows away to reveal the red.
433 – the möbius loop disappears showing just the rope dangling from the branches in the foreground with brown, dying leaves. and the red rope creeping up the trunk of the tree
4.36 – pink rope is draped on the eery, overhanging branches at the top of the screen, a black rope has been tied to the end of the pink. The rope is gently swaying in a slow breeze.
446 cas is motionless underneath the overhanging branches. Clinging to the branches above, they begin to slowly lean back. s
500 As they pull backwards the rope catches around their shoulders, their hair fusing with the rope, branches and leaves.
508 – a green flared background with a purple white and neon green, shiny möbius. Through the colour shift is a close up Cas’ hands with the black rope
518 the colour wash drops and möbius disappears leaving cas in bright light carefully coiling the black rope in their hands. Several strands of black rope fall down together in long lines like a waterfall.
544 short scenes of the black rope wrapped around Cas’s arms and the white rope around their leg.
549 an uneven bubble möbius of neon green and white swirling as cas coils up the black rope, gathering it up from the ground
559 cas in their green jumpsuit has tied the black rope around their body, from their chest to their waist, with the pink rope attached to the rope around their hip
They are lying down on a large fallen tree trunk and start to weave the white rope around their neck and then into the black rope across their torso to repeat the pattern
609 Cas binds the branch of the bush with white rope tightly and haphazardly winding it around the branch, getting faster and faster
625 – Cas lying on the branch with a tangle of white and pink rope around their hands and fingers, clutched to their stomach as they writhe and wriggle they increase the tension against their body, and gradually gather the different colours ofrope into their hands
635 an angular swirling of a larger möbius of blue, yellow, orange and black swirls over the image of cas lying on the branch
646 a close up of their hands with the rope wrapped around their fingers slowly undoing the tangle of ropes
652 a closeup of the Y shaped branch of the tree tied in rope, there is a leaf suspended in the middle.
656 – a scrolling yellow and orange flared wash over a closeup of the tangle of rope on Cas’ stomach. There is a blue and yellow shiny möbius swirling over the top
705 the wash disappears to show the tangle of rope resting on Cas’s sternum. Their chest and belly shows movements of deep breathing.
719 Cas ties the white rope to the green bush, the neon green and white spinning möbius appears over the top
735 a closeup of a dirt path with a gentle covering of brown leaves, sunlight dappling the leaves, cas walks through the frame, the camera focusing on their shiny black boots.