Body Code: Can AI transform disabled experiences in the Arts? | Vulcana Circus

All images: Claudia Baxter

It has been an abiding ambition of multiple Vulcana staff over the years to put Deaf and disabled voices at the forefront of their circus-making process.

Finally this ambition has been realised!

In conjunction with members from the Deaf and Disabled communities, Vulcana’s latest offering, Body Code, will bring together circus, poetry, research, technology, and live music. Through the delivery of what is promised to be a ‘very different kind of performance’, Body Code is slated to address what has become the very controversial topic of AI within the realm of the creative industry.

NEHIB interviewed four creatives who have worked together in bringing this groundbreaking production to fruition: performer/collaborator Aline Chapet-Batlle, visual artist with cerebral palsy Annika Strand, non-verbal poet/writer David Goldsmith, and composer/musician Dr Frankie Dyson Reilly.

All images: Claudia Baxter

Aline Chapet-Batlle is a graduate of the Académie Fratellini in Paris. She has performed globally with prestigious circus companies.

When she is not performing, Chapet-Batlle shares her knowledge of aerial arts in circus with schools and festivals all around Australia. Her teaching revolves around the idea that each body is unique and focuses on highlighting the strength of each student to complement their individuality.

Chapet-Batlle’s collaboration on Body Code has been strongly influenced by her preferred teaching method — she never sees someone’s limitations as a barrier, just as a new tool for experimentation. ‘It follows the same idea of observing another’s strength and limitations, and then using that to play and create. For example, in circus even an able-bodied performer could get injured. But we have to continue performing and in doing so, we learn to re-adapt while also discovering new creative pathways,’ adds Chapet-Batlle knowingly.

NEHIB quizzed Chapet-Batlle about the challenges she faced when working with such a diverse cast to create Body Code.

‘In circus, we’re always finding ways to adapt in making the show work regardless of the original plan. During the process of refining this show, there were challenges but none that we could not overcome or that put a stop to the workflow,’ says Chapet-Batlle.

Annika Strand is a passionate visual artist, curator and arts practitioner who has explored various artistic styles over the years. From impressionism to abstract, and more recently text-based and textile art, Strand’s work is deeply personal and often reflects her emotions and experiences.

Some of Annika's recent work includes My Abstract World, which was selected from thirty-three incredible submissions from all over Australia as the hero artwork for the Undercover Artist Festival 2025. As well as this, Strand recently taught visitors at the Museum of Brisbane how to create beautiful, knitted works of art using her unique style and technique of finger-foot knitting. The workshop was especially designed to be inclusive for people with all abilities and drew on Strand’s lived experience as an artist who also has Cerebral Palsy.

All images: Claudia Baxter

NEHIB asked Strand how she has adapted her role in Body Code in accordance with her disability. Strand admits that she was very nervous at first because she had never been involved in a performance. Moreover, she was uncertain how to adapt the concept to fit in with her disability.

‘I worked alongside a performer or my support worker and together we worked out a way that is comfortable for me. Overall, it was a team effort because everyone had to adapt in some way!’ Strand explains.

So what does it mean to Strand to perform in Body Code, a production that represents accessibility and diversity in aerial arts?

‘This production has opened up a whole new world! Coming from a visual arts background, this has been a completely different experience and a good challenge. I have enjoyed getting to know how my body moves and I also enjoy working with an ensemble that understands the disabled. Body Code has definitely been very important for my personal growth,’ enthuses Strand.

Until his early 20s, David Goldsmith was unable to communicate — people had to just guess what he wanted. In 2005, Goldsmith discovered facilitated communication, which opened up the world for him. For the first time, he was able to take control of his life and make his own choices — he could tell people what he needed, what he wanted, what he felt. Since his discovery, Goldsmith has gone on to become a member of The Brotherhood of The Wordless, a unique group of writers and poets with assorted disabilities that impair their ability to communicate.

NEHIB questioned Goldsmith about how the discovery of facilitated communication influenced his role in Body Code, to which he humorously replied:

‘I didn’t really discover typing to go join the circus! It was a matter of

survival and thriving with my own sense of language.’

He goes on to explain that circus and arts opportunities found their way to him, which he considers to be an extraordinary blessing.

‘Once I knew who I was on the board, and discovered my own voice, I knew I needed creative expression. Circus with Vulcana has been such a joy to challenge my creative limits and make new friendships. The young David without language could never have dreamed of being in this show!’ says Goldsmith enthusiastically.

As an individual with speech difficulties, the message that Goldsmith would like the audience to take away from Body Code is:

‘AI is a destructive beast. It has moments of being beautiful and useful, but I think humanity has let it go too far. My good friend Mike and I are the resident poets of our group and we both have a strong visceral dislike for AI. I think it comes from our strong empathy for humanity and deep care for the environment. AI also doesn’t do much for us disabled non-verbal folk.’

Dr Frankie Dyson Reilly is an interdisciplinary composer, artist and researcher. Dyson Reilly’s long-term artistic research collaboration with Dr Alexandra Gorten explores disabled experiences in musical spaces through diverse scoring practices and sensory-friendly sound-making.

Their research primarily stems from their experiences as late-diagnosed Autistic women navigating the social and sensory complexities of modern music careers, and their findings may have something to offer for the wider disabled community.

‘We learned about the importance of practicing empathy, care, and consciously making space for yourself and others to look, act, and be different. Sometimes this was as simple as making it known it’s okay to take a break anytime or to turn down the lights. We discovered that it’s much easier to create work you’re proud of when your energy is channeled into creativity instead of masking and enduring discomfort for the sake of others,’ explains Dyson Reilly.

All images: Claudia Baxter

They also learned how difficult it can be to enact these principles without the support of others in the artistic community. Therefore, Body Code has been a really special project to be a part of — everyone is totally committed to the spirit of inclusivity.

‘Celia (our artistic director) has always prioritised our individual access needs and boundaries so we can focus on making and sharing our art. People with a disability have so much to offer the creative community and it's been wonderful to see this artistic excellence celebrated in Body Code,’ adds Dyson Reilly.

For Body Code, Dyson Reilly has composed a very special live electro-acoustic score that will explore the intersections between AI and disability. NEHIB asked Dyson Reilly how she conceptualised this idea.

‘The score explores the tensions between ideas of “human” and “artificial”. You’ll hear a combination of live prepared piano which includes playing on keys, but also tinkering with the inside of the piano with hands, plectrums, and mallets, including synthesised sounds played on an electric keyboard.’

Interestingly enough, sometimes these musical combinations worked well together, and sometimes they clashed.

‘I spent time with the Body Code group discussing sounds that we love and hate, and sounds that feel human or inhuman — these ideas became a kind of sound palette for the score,’ Dyson Reilly says knowingly.

Ultimately, Dyson Reilly hopes that this score will reflect the group’s complex and varied perspectives on what AI might mean for them.

Body Code begs the important question, “How will AI transform disabled experiences in the future?”

Go and see for yourself what the creative team has to say about this controversial topic when Body Code takes over the Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of November. Tickets are now on sale from the venue.