A new performance commission that examines the human search for authenticity in a world built on repetition.
Bornsick reflects the idea that we inherit illness—born into a system that shapes us before we can define ourselves. The gymnastics and dance performance explores identity as a compulsive act of referencing, an endless cycle of borrowing and reshaping of what came before.
From the moment we enter the world, we inherit history—gestures, roles, expectations. We are taught movement, speech, and existence. The queer body, in particular, exists in a tension between conformity and freedom, constructing and reconstructing itself through cultural echoes. In a world built on repetition, in Bornsick, identity becomes an act of shapeshifting, a constant negotiation between imposed structures and self-determined transformation, never fixed but always in flux.
This idea comes to life in the performance as a body is built, piece by piece—a character assembled through learned movements, imposed behaviours, and artificial layers. Yet as these layers are stripped away, what remains is not a pure, original self, but another reference, another construct. Through conditioning, we create a machine. Through unlearning, we return to the animal. The cycle continues, revealing that there is no final, fixed truth—only endless adaptation.
Bornsick suggests that humanhood is a paradox—we search for something real, yet everything we are is borrowed. We long for authenticity, but if reality is only an echo of what came before, then individuality itself is an illusion— the self exists purely as a reflection.
Bornsick is commissioned by Serpentine and Edinburgh Art Festival.
Bornsick will tour to EAF25 in August 2025 to close the festival.
Lewis Walker is a London-born queer, non-binary movement artist. A former Great Britain gymnast and Acrobatic Gymnastics World Champion, they trained from age 6 to 21 before earning a degree in Contemporary Dance. Their work spans theatre, film, fashion, music, and the commercial sector. Walker continues to choreograph gymnastics competition routines for the Great Britain, Italian and French national teams. Their creative vision and dynamic movement style have led to collaborations with Tim Walker, Yorgos Lanthimos, ANOHNI, Tirzah, BULLYACHE, Burberry, UNTITLAB, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA).
Beyond performance, Walker is dedicated to teaching movement as a tool for accessing deeper states of consciousness and developing a deeper understanding of consensual touch. Their Connecting to Improv workshop explores dance improvisation as a ritual of shared energy and expression, while MOVE HYPNO, a collaboration with hypnotherapist Michele Occelli, blends movement and hypnotherapy for personal transformation.
Walker is currently a Studio Wayne McGregor RESIDENT 6 artist-in-residence.
Choreographer: Lewis Walker
Performance: Lewis Walker
Music from: Oliver Coates, “Throb, shiver, arrow of time” and “skins n slime”
Music Producer:
Look Engineer: Straytukay
Lighting Designer: Laurie Loads
Lighting Programmer & Codesigner: Edward James Saunders
Graphic Designer: Marco Andrea Cacioni
Set Designer: David White
Hypnotherapist: Michele Occelli
Poster photographer: YISKID
Physiotherapist & acupuncturist: Atsue Morinaga
Kostas Stasinopoulos, Curator, Live Programmes, Daisy Gould, Assistant Curator, Live Programmes, Produced by Isobel Peyton-Jones, Producer, Serpentine, and Andy Downie, Velocet.
