“Hey everybody, my name is David Lloyd and as much as I hate to blow my own trumpet, Im going to be like Marvin Gay and tell you my life story. You see, I’m 22 years old and I am currently attending my third year of BA Hons Scriptwriting at the University of South Wales based in Cardiff. From my past writing experience I find myself drawn more specifically to psychological dramas, but I do try to widen my genre field. Admittedly, I would jump higher than a grass hopper on a pogo stick at any opportunities, but I do prefer writing for film and television where I find myself working on amateur short films with the master film production students.”
“Since I was a child (where others say I still am!) I have held a passion for creative writing, but it wasn’t until I had performed in my first self-written theatre play where I knew which career path I intended to pursue. The performance, title ‘The Mask of Eldernon’ was a psychological drama based upon a mass murderer who suffered from a split personality disorder where the protagonist was both the victim and the culprit. It was performed by myself and four of my peers as part of our course at the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) in Hereford.”
http://www.rnc.ac.uk
“Oh… perhaps this would be a good time to mention how I am in fact visually impaired- it’s funny how some things slip your mind. Anyway, the diagnosis for my sight loss is a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and I have a detached retina which was caused from fluid seeping in beneath my eye. From six months of age. I also have an extremely rare metabolic disorder called LCHAD where my liver is unable to process fatty acids so I must stick to a three gram diet and I sustain my energy from an overnight feed. In result of this condition I have problems with my muscles and my energy levels and it attacks the nerves in my hands, feet and eyes which is what caused the site loss, but enough about the reason that would make me the perfect Olympic athlete, let us return to the topic of RNC.”
“Being a college which specialises in visual impairment, the purpose of me attending was mainly to be taught independence and mobility skills. As well as this, in the two years I attended I managed to obtain a Level 3 Diploma in Performing Arts, a single award in Brail and a C in re-sitting my A Level English Literature. I feel my biggest achievement was the confidence I had built with the help from my friends. Being amongst other people who had gone through the same experiences and had tackled the same difficulties as I have has really opened my eyes. The whole experience has change my life completely and inspired me to chase my dreams and overcome any obstacles that stand in my way… except from a Rubiks cube, those things are very hard!”
“Speaking of difficulties, despite the little deterioration that I already had, I have lost a significant amount of site in my right eye during my A Levels and couldn’t see how I was going to cope, especially when I was studying art and design, but I suppose If Van Gogh was able to paint with one ear missing then surely I could do it with one eye… yeah? you see what I did there? One ear, one eye- oh forget it. Anyway, this sudden site loss meant that I had to apply drastic changes to my work method, like studying films in class, but having to wait until I went home to hear the audio description, reading out of large print text books and perhaps the cruelest… sitting in the front row to see the board. The changes in my artistic techniques however, did allow me to stumble upon a hidden talent of drawing surrealistic images derived from my imagination with the smudging of compressed chalk.
Now for those who don’t know, compressed chalk can get extremely messy and stick to pretty much anything it comes into contact with, so you can imagine the site of it being used by a visually impaired student and then going home to a recently cleaned house… to a recently cleaned house with white walls… a recently cleaned house with white walls and an angry mother following the fingerprints… well you get the idea. So despite the change in methods, the giant printed books and the cloak covered fingerprints, I was able to obtain my Alevels in English Literature, Art and Media Studies, I had been accepted into RNC and I didn’t even have to bribe anyone either, which is always a plus.”
“Which then ledd me to the most scariest three letters I thought I’d never meet: U… N… I (which is just an abbreviation for the ten letter word, but this sounds cooler). I remember when I first started and feeling so scared of joining a new university in a city I wasn’t familiar with, but I kept thinking to myself ‘I just need to bite my tongue, hold my breath and jump into any opportunity that comes my way’ … but then naturally start breathing normally otherwise I wont be there for long. I understand how this may seem easier said than done, but with the support of the lecturers and my fellow peers and the provided equipment university became a life changing experience. Admittedly it was difficult adjusting to uni life what with the independence required for maintaining my condition, the continuity of eating and finding a healthy balance between work and social activity, but reflecting on it now makes me realise how these difficulties and mistake I had made have helped me become a better person and do you want to know what else… I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”
Category Archives: Art
Review: Babulus, Gwyn Emberton and ilDance by Helen Joy
Babulus
Tower of Babel, says a friend next to me.
Communication, that’s what it’s about, she says, all the different ways of communicating.
I’m not sure about the bear, I find the bear creepy. Oh, she says, I like the bear.
Did you like the dance as a whole? Oh yes, mesmerising. I like going to things with you, I see things I wouldn’t otherwise see.
I see things I wouldn’t otherwise see. This is one of them for me too.
I was facilitating art classes last week with older people in hospitals and care homes and one of them, Brian, was unable to speak or hear. Don’t worry, the nurse said, he will make you understand him. And he did. Brian painted flowers, big colourful flowers. We chatted with our hands, our faces and our paint. We did not need to use our voices. It was a dance between two people.
Babulus is a dance between five people, one of whom is a bear now and again. A bizarre, fluffy, comedic yet sentient and sympathetic character to foil the darker elements of tied hands and closed mouths. I still found it creepy. The clown in the classroom, the slapstick to the poignant. I realise that this is just me – everyone else loved the softer element, the balance, the reference to a childhood toy. I still have my Bear, he sleeps with me still and he is my most valuable possession so I do get it, I get the thinking, I just don’t like it until I watch her loose a dancer’s bonds, quietly, softly.
But the dance itself? Oh it is superb. The dancers come together, push apart, come together, push apart using movement, chatter, language, sticky tape, song and light. They are beautifully choreographed, they are beautifully lit. It is mesmerising. There are two themes I particularly like: the holding of hands over each other’s mouths; and the bunching together babbling in their mother tongues. I like that they emerge from behind us, that they make eye contact with us, that they threaten us and engage with us. They laugh with us too.
It is the dance between two people, one with his hand over her mouth with her twisting away to speak, that I will remember most – they roll into and over each other in a balletic, deceptive, controlling, power struggle. I wish I could see this again and again. It called to me.
It is also one of the best after show discussions I have ever attended. The performers, dancers, are as engaging vocally as they have been throughout their piece. Clever, open, responsive to their audience, they are indeed communicating at all levels. Not babbling at all, really.
Event: Bablulus
Seen: 1930, 17th February, 2017
Reviewer: Helen Joy for 3rd Act Critics
Running: Friday 17 February – Saturday 18 February
Cost : Tickets: £12/£10; Age 11+
Running time: approx. 50mins
Links: http://www.chapter.org/babulus
Production: Gwyn Emberton and ilDance collaboration
Music: Oscar Collin
Lighting and design: Joe Fletcher
Direction: Sara Lloyd
Babulus was created and toured with the support of Arts Council Wales, Gothenburg International Theatre and Dance Festival, The Work Room, Wales Arts International, Göteborg Stad, Västra Götalandsregionen, NDCWales, Ballet Cymru, Balettakademien Stockholm, Konstnärsnämnden, and Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
An interview with Tom Goddard Project Producer at Criw Celf, A2:Connect
Criw Celf workshops 2016
Hi Tom – great to meet you, can you give our readers some background information on yourself please?
I’m a visual artist mainly working in film and performance. I like to work with people and my projects have included customised football wall charts, an odyssey across Wales, an archive to a lake monster, a journey into neolithic welsh life. I have recently had my films shown in Buenos Aires, Argentina and at the Whitechapel Gallery, London.
I position my work on the line between truth and fiction, considering how public anxieties have intensified within the axis of the modern world through an obsessive repetition of endless facts, where choices are seemingly endless.
I am an advocate for education and best practice in the arts as well as for the role of the artist in the 21st century.
You work for Arts Active Trust promoting arts activity for schools and communities in the central south region. Can you please give me more information on this and your work?
The Arts Active Trust is a charity that seeks to engage people of all ages with creative activities through working directly with artists and professional practitioners who can inspire and guide their development. A key part of the Arts Active programme is A2:Connect which is the Arts & Education network for the Central South region working to bring artists of all disciplines – music, drama, visual arts, literature etc. directly into our schools. In association with A2:Connect, Criw Celf Cardiff is a visual arts project for ‘More Able & Talented’ young artists at secondary school.
Then more specifically you are Project Producer at Criw Celf, what does your role entail?
I work one day a week managing the Criw Celf Cardiff programme of workshops and courses so I get to work with a wide range of visual artists, educators and arts professionals. I work directly with art teachers in secondary schools across Cardiff about how they can be involved in the scheme.
Criw Celf workshops 2016
In January 2017 I believe you will be supporting young people described as gifted and talented to Discover Artes Mundi 7, with nominated artist Bedwyr Williams. This sounds very exciting what will take place during these workshops and how do people get involved?
We’re very lucky to have Bedwyr coming down to Cardiff. He’s had a great year showing at the Barbican, Somerset House and being nominated for Artes Mundi 7. I’ve invited him because he is an inspiring Welsh artist who, through his work explores and asks questions about the world from different perspectives. The young people will be able to take a tour of Artes Mundi as well as taking part in workshops to produce art work of their own.
You have a great deal of experience in the Visual Arts in Wales Do you think the Visual Arts as a form still resonate for young people?
We live in a world more saturated with visual imagery than ever before. There is a media environment both on and off line that is telling young people what to look like, what to desire and what to care about. Visual arts in all of its forms, whether its film, sculpture or painting, offers a way to understand how to look, contextualise, empathise and learn tolerance in order to think about the kind of world you want to live in and create.
Learning is an active process and sensory input is something we construct a meaning out of, we then construct meanings and systems of meaning. It’s about curiosity, open-mindedness and understanding that not everything in a gallery or in a theatre is for you and if there isn’t anything that speaks to you, feeling empowered to do it yourself.
In the visual arts young people can go on intellectual adventures or get lost in the beauty or ugliness of something, in turn discovering new things and things about themselves.
Young Art Force
Get the Chance works to support a diverse range of members of the public to access cultural provision. Are you aware of any barriers to equality and diversity for either Welsh or Wales based artists?
There are many barriers both social and physical that exist for young people from lower income families which prevent them from engaging with arts and culture. One of the barriers I feel we can tackle easily is the language used to describe arts and culture which often can prohibit and distance families as well as being irrelevant to today’s young people.
Black Kettle Collective performing Protest Song
If you were able to fund an area of the arts in Wales what would this be and why?
I think I would do away with areas of the arts and instead concentrate on funding strong and transformational projects. Many of the projects would be cross disciplinary so creativity is supported rather than discriminating between artistic forms.
Young Art Force
What excites you about the arts in Wales? What was the last really great thing that you experienced that you would like to share with our readers?
What excites me is cross disciplinary partnerships and collaboration. Genuine connections with a range of people from all sorts of different backgrounds. An openness to change and link Cardiff and Wales with other international cities rather than always comparing ourselves to other cities in the UK.
I enjoyed Artes Mundi this year – Bedwyr Williams’s Ty Mawr and John Akomfrah at Artes Mundi were strong stand out films for me.
As part of a partnership between Chapter and Artes Mundi I saw The Stuart Hall Project, Akomfrah’s film documenting the life of cultural theorist Stuart Hall who is one of my heroes. Hall was integral to exploring social change in Britain and I’ve often thought of him being the voice of God. Ever changing and always thinking, flexible and rational.
Another standout was S Mark Gubb ‘Revelations: The Poison of Free Thought, Part II’ and Mike Kelley’s ‘Mobile Homestead’ supported by Artangel at g39 and Cardiff Contemporary.
I went to the reopening of Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea which includes film work by Lindsey Seers and an exhibition related to Richard Glynn Vivian a Victorian traveller whose collection of over 12,000 works was gifted to the city of Swansea. I’m particularly interested in the story of early European porcelain and the Gallery has examples from the Meissen factory by sculptors Kaendler and Kircher which i normally travel to the V&A in London to see. There’s also Leonardo da Vinci, Turner, Picasso etc…Worth a visit!
Thanks for your time Tom.
Link below to further information on Criw Celf Cardiff – New Year Art Course
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-year-art-course-criw-celf-cardiff-tickets-29643221674
Gala Night, National Dance Company Wales
How lovely to dress up for a night out! Even lovelier to be asked to attend something as special as this: a Christmas Fundraising Gala for the National Dance Company Wales!
Guided into the dark, starry-lit heart of the school, its stage, we are invited to mingle before sitting at beautifully festive tables to watch the show. We are at the front of the stage, level with our hosts and muddled up with dancers, board members, sponsors, families and friends. It is delightful. It is the entirely predictable warm welcome from this Company which we all value so highly.
Now, this is a night with a purpose. A showcase of dancing wares to one end – to raise awareness and support for the dancers, their Company, their outreach work and their hopes and aspirations for themselves and others.
And so it begins.
Marc (Rees) compered the evening in tremendous style and humour. Caroline (Finn) and Paul (Kaynes) are practised and fluent with the passion for their business they so want us to share. They say,
We have a responsibility to take dance across Wales, so as many people as possible can experience what it is to dance.
They choose tonight to share with us –
The invisible work that we do, the beautiful and valuable work that we do.
They want to sustain and develop this work, react to people’s needs, make a difference and look after their dancers, keep them well for the hard work they do – and we get it.
We are shown videos, evidence of NDCW dancers working with children, adults, people living with Parkinsons –
I know it’s cheesy but dancing makes me happy.
Is there a finer accolade? One line tells us all we need to know. What these remarkable, dedicated people do benefits young and old alike. Speaking of young, we are now given a performance – This is a Really Difficult Interview, created by Karol Cysewski and performed by the NDCWales Associates.
It is 13 minutes of difficult and complex dance performed perfectly by a large group, aged between 14 and 19. It is not hard to see that nurturing the future talent in dance is worthy for many reasons but what is surprising, is that they demonstrate their professionalism and ability so comfortably.
I hadn’t expected anything so wonderful. I don’t know what to say. It’s so emotional
– says someone next to me, clearly struggling with her responses.
It’s very competitive, says another, it’s very hard to get in, you know. Not enough boys, it’s harder for the girls. They are good, aren’t they?
Now, to make a difference, you can’t just tell people about things, you have to make them experience them too. And blow me, Lee (Johnson) has us all on our feet… some braver than others and on the stage while the rest of us toe tap around our chairs! What a hoot!
How clear it becomes that in dance there is activity, laughter, companionship and effort. A simple coordinated routine and we all feel on top of the world – and we all sit back down, renewed and ready to listen.
We are also here to learn about new projects. Andrew (Miller) and Marc (Rees) tell us about R17 and P.A.R.A.D.E. :
An immersive and radical reimagining of Ballets Russes’s 1917 Parade,
And it is to be a participative and flamboyant dance event through the streets of Cardiff to the stage of the Wales Millennium Centre to the glorious cacophony of Satie’s music. There will be Dr. Who, there will be Revolution at the Senedd, there will be oranges thrown.
This is a major collaboration between NDCW, WNO, WMC and the RCMD which marks the centenary of the Russian Revolution. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.wmc.org.uk/Productions/2017-2018/DonaldGordonTheatre/Parade/
Lastly, before the Christmas carousing closes the evening, we are treated to Animatorium. Ok, so I am biased. I saw this in rehearsal and on the pavement outside. I feel the inner thrill of recognition and anticipation. I am excited to see this again. I do not expect the reactions around me:
Ooh, I’ve gone all goose-pimply, says one, rubbing her arms and wiping an eye.
Cheesy, goose-pimply – this work is incredible; the work these dancers and their team do is incredible. Do not take my word for it – please go and see them, learn to dance with them, help them continue what they do best –and let them develop their influence, making people happy.
They do all this through public funding, supporters, sponsors and ticket sales; but you can help too:
In the New Year, NDCW will be launching LIFT, a new supporter scheme. Information will be available at http://www.ndcwales.co.uk/en/about/support-us/our-current-supporters/ where other means of donating are available as well.
In the meantime, please get yourself a ticket. You won’t regret it.
Caroline Finn – Artistic Director
Paul Kaynes – Chief Executive
Lee Johnston – Rehearsal Director
Andrew Miller – Executive producer of R17
Marc Rees – Director and Curator of Contemporary Performance and Installation
Reviewed, Saturday, 2nd December, 2016
An Interview with Artist Emily Jones
Illustration for The Emperor’s New Clothes
Sherman Theatre and Theatr Iolo
All artwork copyright Emily Jones
Our project coordinator recently spoke to Cardiff based artist Emily Jones about her career to date and plans for the future.
Hi Emily great to meet you, can you give our readers some background information on yourself please?
Hello, I grew up in Tyneside but I’ve lived in Cardiff for ten years now. I studied illustration for children’s books at art college and that’s the branch of illustration I’m really passionate about. Although, I do enjoy drawing cartoons of Donald Trump and other political figures that I find ludicrous! Being an illustrator isn’t my full time job as I prefer the balance of being able to draw and paint when I want, without the worry or pressure of relying on it for an income.
So what got you interested in Illustration?
I had two lovely teachers in primary school and they encouraged me to draw. They made me realise that you could draw pictures for a living. I loved picture books in particular and I had my favourite illustrators who I aspired to be like. I think I’ve always been fascinated with images and how someone has created them.
How has your career as an illustrator developed?
A few years ago, I began renting out an art studio so I had the space to work in a more professional manner rather than just working at home in front of the TV. This really changed things and along with posting my work on social media, I have slowly but surely become busier and better.
Your personalised pet portraits are particularly popular with your work appearing in 1000 Dog Portraits by Rockport Publishers? Can you tell our readers how you got involved in pet portraits? Do you have a favourite animal to illustrate?
I painted my partner’s dog Scooby and it all started from there. I showed the painting to a few people and before long I was being asked to paint their cat or dog. I think painting pets is a great way for any artist to get commissioned as it’s artwork that is really accessible for people to buy. I love painting all sorts of animal but the more animated the creature is, the more fun I find it to be.
Over the last two years you have been commissioned by The Sherman Theatre to produce images for the seasonal productions The Princess and The Pea and this year The Emperor’s New Clothes. Can you tell us how you approach illustrating such popular classics for the stage?
Well I begin by doing a lot of research on how other artists have illustrated the stories. I then do my best to create an image which is completely original as well as instantly recognisable. The images have to grab attention of both children and adults and hopefully it will make people want to see the show. I’ve loved illustrating these particular stories as they’ve both been so playful and silly.
Do you have any illustrators or artists that inspire you?
There are tons! Quentin Blake has always been there as a favourite, as has Edward Gorey. They are experts at depicting characters with seemingly simple pen lines. Shaun Tan’s work is incredible and I wish I had a fraction of his talent! I love Júlia Sardà, David Roberts, Isabelle Arsenault, David Litchfield, Michael Sowa, Mateo Dineen, Rebecca Dautremer. They are a just a few! I study their work and try to figure out how they do what they do. They make me feel totally inferior but at the same time, inspire me and enthuse me to create my next best piece; which is definitely a good thing.
If any of our readers are aspiring illustrators what advice could you offer them?
Draw as often as possible. It seems obvious but you have to practice. Drawing from life is a brilliant way to improve your skills and develop your style. Having a recognisable style is important and it’s something I haven’t mastered yet. But the more work I do, the more I learn and develop. I just wish there was more time in the day to draw!
We believe you are currently working on your first children’s picture book, sounds exciting, can you tell us more?
I’ve almost finished the artwork for a lovely writer, Victoria Richards. She commissioned me an embarrassingly long time ago but the end is now in sight. We don’t have a publisher yet but we’re hopeful of finding one. It’s a great, magical story and the artwork is some of my best. We’ll definitely get it out in the public domain somehow.
What do you have planned for the future?
I’ll continue taking on commissions as and when I get them and I’m going to start illustrating my own stories to see where that takes me. Other than that, just continue to draw and paint.
Thanks for your time Emily
You can see more of Emily’s work here; https://www.facebook.com/emilybobmandraws
Review Quentin Blake: Inside Stories National Museum of Wales by Helen Joy
(4 / 5)
Charming.
Somehow these odd, quirky, scratchy drawings become pretty and delicate in this high, light gallery.
It’s wallpaper, says the guide, as we check out the canopy of characters clambering down the walls.
It was especially made for us. People want to buy it. They can’t.
He smoothes it along the wall, loves it.
The text, that’s vinyl lettering.
It’s honest, candid, an extension of the drawings, tucked under the pictures, telling us something about the artist as much as his work and in his hand.
I hear children: ooh, it’s Matilda… Mummy, look, it’s Matilda.
I see Michael Rosen’s heart on the walls at the far end. Blake chooses his pens and brushes as carefully as Rosen chose his words to describe his grief. Beautiful.
The guide loves this exhibition. He loves this Museum. We talk about the need to attract children to keep the funding. Museum having to morph from repository and display to school and play.
There is a low table with low stools. All bright colours and soft plastics. Books and pencils, bits of paper.
Here, which one to do you want to do?
This one, Mummy. Mrs Twit. I’m not very good. I can’t draw.
How sick am I of hearing this cri de couer. Who tells a child they can’t draw? Who?
So, we all sit down and pick up the colour pencils and the paper and we draw. The adults copy Blake. The children copy the adults. I just draw chickens.
How do we hang them on the wall?
Just clip them in front of the other pictures.
But I don’t want to hide any?
They’ll all be cleared away weekly.
Oh. Some of these are wonderful.
The guide lights up: yes, look at these – talented.
They all are.
Blake would want them all on display. He is happy to share his warts n all, so should we be happy to show off all our talents. Art is feeling, is communication – no right or wrong.
I get that the Museum needs income, I get that it should attract children for many good reasons but let the adults in too.
This exhibition is a truly refreshing expression of human frailties and our spirit, our humour, our ability to find laughter and hope everywhere. Blake shows us through caricature and exaggeration what it is to be a child, an adult, a human being, a creature of this world. It is humanity in ink. Deceptively simple.
As my Father always said, it takes genius to simplify, to explain. Blake does this perfectly.
I go home and I spend an evening replacing the nib in my great-grandfather’s pen and I start to draw.
16th July – 20th November, 2016
Free, suitable for all ages
https://museum.wales/cardiff/whatson/8916/Quentin-Blake-Inside-Stories/
Review Clear Cut OUT by Kimberley Pennell
After attending the last Clear Cut, I was apprehensive that its relocation to The Globe would negate a little of the intimacy it held in the tightly packed gallery space at MADE. Where the audience, sat at the knees of the performers, were close enough to catch every facial tic and viscera of emotion. Yet, by the end of the night, moving shoulder to shoulder with strangers on a makeshift dance floor, I felt the familiar sense of closeness. The new, rather more auspicious, platform, rather than forcing distance, allowed the artists to explore and subvert traditional space through both their work, and proximity.
Without introduction, two female voices, disjointed and distanced by static, swelled through the darkness. On a continual loop, the cycle of barely discernible phrases and jarring feedback quickly superseded the instinctive need to distinguish language and became a haunting norm, as if it were the voice of the space itself. Heightening the tension, paper aeroplanes poured down from above, which revealed, when unfolded, texts that were as tangled and mired in themselves as the surrounding soundscape. The experience was displacing, emphasised when the performer stepped into, through and over the audience, speaking into a megaphone, becoming the physical manifestation of the voices that both invited and rejected the act of listening, participation and belonging.
Will Salter
The exploration of our transformative interactions space, whether physical, mental or negative, was articulated most convincingly by the poetry of Rosie Bufton. Her intimate portrayal of the truncating nature of prison, stemming from her work with inmates, details the devastation inherent in incarceration. The reality of the lives laid to waste in the “concrete womb,” are made apparent by her references to fathers, brothers and men, that without the possibility of a future, are left to languish inside the structure of the poem, even after we had finished listening. Bufton moved from the physical prisons, to the abstract, but no less damaging, emotional and mental prisons that are built by trauma, and policed by us. Moving and relatable, Bufton urges that despite how trapped we may feel inside our own minds, at least with self-agency, there is hope for breaking free.
Turning Worlds
Turning Worlds, a complex, multi-disciplinary, and ultimately, beautiful performance – both visually and sonically – was so layered upon completion that it almost defies summary. Exploring and deconstructing the stiff structure of formal, and specifically, courtly, dance, Turning Worlds related the subversion of free and fluid movement to a revolt in wider society. The combination of music, spoken word, technology, video and dance worked in perfect symbiosis, culminating in something fresh, exciting and not to be missed.
The similar physicality of Livia Frankish’s clarinet performance of Three Ephemera posed, and answered, the question of how much a performer can give to a pre-constructed piece of work. Watching Frankish lean into her instrument, her chest ebb, her shoulders rise, her face articulating the emotion in each note, the act of creation appeared so intimate I felt voyeuristic watching. With a surprising amount of comedy she exaggerated the toll the piece takes physically to play, eventually superseding the voice of the clarinet with her own, almost tantrum like crescendo of notes, asserting the creativity and control of her interpretation.
A Leap of Faith
Artist Robyn Hobbs took to the stage in what I described in my notes as a “dope ass Mrs Rotherham outfit”. With a heavily outlined nine-yard stare, the collaborative team of artist and band, lead by Ben Thomas, engaged in an elaborate call and response. Hobbs moved from frenetically painting, to enacting a progression of symbols and allegories that turned in tone with the seamless transitions of the music. The Leap of Faith alluded to by its various tropes, was sinister and wild in its expression, a literal and metaphorical precipice exemplified by the near edge of the stage. By the end, both band and artist declined into an entropic chaos, a stream of consciousness both verbal and aural that reflected a fall into a metaphysical madness, creating questions that lasted long after they departed the stage.
Particularly poignant was the collaborative dance and film based piece, Knots Cymylau. The film made visible the struggle of a body working through the trauma of mental illness. Heavy with the metaphor of its proximity to the cliffs edge, the camera work contrasted the vastness of the landscape, versus the macro shots of the body stretching and recoiling, emphasising the instability of identity anxiety with pulsating music and red screens. Especially when, perhaps unintentionally, it was followed by our compere’s poem, begun with repeated “shhhhs.” Reflecting the stigma that often dogs conversation of mental illness.
Nevsky Perspective
Finishing, was the atmospheric, complex and full-bodied music of Nevsky Perspective. Pure vocals looped over industrial beats in an intricately layered soundscape that built and built, until its full weight settled into some sort of profound sonic experience. The set acted, not as a song-by-song showcase, but as an experience in its entirety, moving from hauntingly delicate moments to room engulfing sounds. A slow, aural burn that demands, and is truly worth, your investment.
As ever, no Clear Cut event is ever fully complete without the inimitable Will Salter. The vast spectrum of adjectives I could use to describe his performances will always pale in comparison to seeing the man and his extraordinary enunciatory prowess. Acting as the vessel for a DaDa-ist entity, his guttural and phonetic utterances stretched out of his body in a way that seemed improbable, and, despite our human mouths not being nearly as gymnastic, managed to get the audience shouting along before the first act had even started.
Clear Cut OUT is a unique event that manages to be both magnificently curated, yet totally organic. Consistently constructing programmes that offer a diverse range of experimental performance art, Clear Cut is an accessible and entertaining entryway into the fringe of local and national talent.
Find out more about the event here: https://www.facebook.com/CardiffMADE/
Or have a taster here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeQJ4MaIVtU
Props to Glyn Owen and Sarah Vaughan-Jones for the images.
Special thanks to The Globe, Sarah Vaughan-Jones and all contributors and performers for the organisation of this event.
Review Clear-Cut 6 M.A.D.E. – by Amelia Seren Roberts
Origami Reinkarnasjon performed by Simon Gore and Jack Rees
Traditional Sephardic lullabies, liberated CCTV Footage and choreography merging Jane Eyre with the tunes of PJ Harvey are among the diverse acts at Clear-Cut 6 programme of experimental performance arts.
The audience clamours for position in the gallery space at M.A.D.E; spectators gather at the back and the edges of the room, whilst others nestle amongst the many cushions and pallet boxes laid out for our comfort. The atmosphere is one of anticipation, but also of fun and togetherness. After reading through the programme at the beginning of the evening, I find myself curious about each of the seven experimental acts in turn. Clear-Cut is an event unlike anything I have attended before, and the diversity of the audience and acts alike is immediately apparent. The evening is a showcase of video works, dance, spoken word, performance, visual arts, new music and more. To experience this diversity of performance in a single event is impressive. It’s something of a one-stop culture stop.
“Where genres collaborate and collide”, Clear-Cut 6.
Will Salter, host of the evening and Dada performer
Will Salter is our animated host; himself performing Dada poetry at intervals throughout the evening to great effect. His verbal explosions punctuate the spaces between acts, and mischievously disrupt the audience should they grow too comfortable. Dada retains a long history with experimental performance related to (or in denial of) the fine arts, which makes the presence of the genre particularly appropriate on this occasion.
Our agenda for the evening is jam-packed, prompting fears that we might not achieve all seven acts. In actuality, the evening is well-structured whilst maintaining a casual and friendly atmosphere.
Marega Palser merges literature, illustration and popular music in, ‘Jane Eyre, The DarkSide...’ Initially inspired by Paula Rego’s illustrations of the novel by Charlotte Bronte, Palser’s performance really is a highlight of the evening. The artist said of the inspiration for the work, “each picture told a story; mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting…” Palser describes the piece as, “a thought in progress…” and the work curiously encompasses elements of the unknown. The piece reveals something of an internal conflict, which ultimately dictates movement, yet there is undeniably confidence in the madness.
‘Jane Eyre, The DarkSide…’ performed by Marega Palser
‘IdentiTTy’ by Arnaldo James and collaborators is a film which asks more questions than are answered. “Does ethnicity or origin come through when skin tone is homogenised? Is morphology reflected by environment? Can identity be conveyed through dance and abstract non-verbal storytelling?“ The potentially fluid and reactionary nature of cultural identity is explored in this choreographed video work. Referencing Japanese Butoh and Creole traditions alongside more indigenous Trinidadian movement the piece claims to examine, “the similarities that occur in different cultures through movement and music”. The piece is visually stunning.
Nicholas Morgan & Margot Przymierska perform as the collective, ‘Parallel Lines’. In, ‘That’s the family you have’ Nicholas and Margot divulge separate yet intertwining stories, “improvising around box-set narratives and the immediate, subjective experiences of our own lives, collapsing characters, time & space, fiction & reality”. Their simultaneous telling of the circumstances surrounding the funeral of a relative, alongside an audio description of moments from the popular series ‘Game of Thrones’ captivated the Clear-Cut 6 audience and was at once sensitive and hilarious.
‘That’s the family you have’ performed by ‘Parallel Lines’, Nicholas Morgan & Margot Przymierska
Meanwhile, above the performance space, the gallery plays host to a film and sculpture installation by contemporary artist, Merran Singh Dubb. ‘Temple of Consciousness’ explores the relationship between the declining condition of the natural environment and the similarly marred spiritual condition of humankind. “It is evident that we are destroying the planet but ultimately, we are destroying ourselves”. The installation thoughtfully presents imagery representing spirituality alongside the elemental extremes of natural disaster and climate change.
To close the event, ‘Trio Ladino‘, consisting of Angie Kirby, Bethan Frieze and Eloise Gynn are a trio of musicians and vocalists performing adaptations of Arabic and Sephardic traditional lullabies. The trio describe their sound as, “ancient melodies fused with more contemporary musical perspectives, anchored by lullaby-like themes and romantic narratives”. The performance is a calming and captivating conclusion to the Clear-Cut programme.
On reflection, improvisation and experimentation were certainly the order of the evening with every act proving both valuable and unique. The atmosphere was at the same time informal, friendly, supportive and progressive. Clear-cut is unlike anything I have seen and I will be attending from here on!
‘Trio Ladino’ performers Angie Kirby, Bethan Frieze and Eloise Gynn
For a taste of Clear-Cut, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeQJ4MaIVtU
https://www.facebook.com/CardiffMADE/
Image credits to Glyn Owens and Sarah Vaughan-Jones.
Special thanks to M.A.D.E Gallery, Sarah Vaughan-Jones and all contributors and performers for the organisation of this event.
Review Performance at The New Theatre by Lois Arcari
(4 / 5)
Director James Williams was placed, alongside the producers at Arts Active Wales, with the admirable but ultimately unenviable task of threading together a week’s worth of workshops, carried out by young people who had never before met, together into a show worthy of the New Theatre.
Despite the insularity that is always a potential threat to any of these types of projects, they always expand outside their form – making it a real shame this performance, perhaps weighed down by the somewhat awkward virtue of its name, wasn’t a tad more well marketed. What the Sherman NT Connections festival did so well with interpreting set theatre pieces this project did for new material.
There were, of course, lots of layers of interweaving. The more complex ideas with the weaker ones, the reasonably large age gap of performers aged 14 – 25, and of course the disciplines of circus, design, dance, art, music and the spoken word. The poetry, overseen by Literature Wales was one of the highlights, although a few themes might’ve meandered, and there were moments where politics seemed a little indelicately transposed onto some performers. Having sat in on the workshop, any chinks in the material were minute distractions against the obvious double edged sword of the time frame, and the integration of every workshopped piece into the whole.
The ensemble for ‘Performance’ 2016
Community Music Wales where also very active in the show but where better executed and more memorable when used as a backbone for the other artforms. The Art and Design elements were the most sporadically used but well done; a Dali like background to an intense, exhaustive dance piece the most effective example. Impressive puppetry was also used, although the flashy teddy bear, turned Gothic by the lighting, would best be appreciated of those who, unlike this critic, have not been subjected to the ‘wonders’ of FNAF by younger family. No Fit State’s Circus performances showed the two most obvious flavours, a humorous but slight juggling gag to trapeze, but there will be no world in which the mastery of the latter doesn’t inspire some kind of awe.
All the elements worked well together, but Earthfall Dance had a monopoly on the night. Contemporary dance is one of those things all too easy to get wrong, viewed by the general public with cynicism, and even sometimes within the arts with a gentle wryness. In this show, it was stunning, performed by the trained dancers, with natural acting talent alongside passionate energy. It whipped up the most natural commentary and narrative of the night whilst seeming absolutely effortless. As always, simplicity was king and queen alike. Even though others without dance experience were involved, they too seemed totally natural. Whether swift and pulsating or tender and subdued, it was perfectly executed.
Overall, the pieces which were meant to form more of a cohesive story than a thematic connection were too brilliant not to hinder the more standalone pieces which would otherwise be fine if unengaging but it rather accurately depicted the current arts scene, whilst showing plenty of scope for new forms of talent. The difficulty in reviewing this was that any flaws are part of its form and therefore, any commentary can’t seem too constructive, but trying to bring young talent out of its usual spheres and into the general stage is an admirable thing. It was never going to be perfect or show any calculated insight, but it was certainly vibrant and showed plenty of the organic kind. Very much worth keeping an eye out for next year, but keeping it in context is essential for the ride.
Director: James Williams
Producer: Arts active
Assistant producers/collaborators: Literature Wales, No Fit State, Earthfall Dance, Community Music Wales, Criw Celf
Running time: 1 hr 20 mins
M.A.D.E. Pick of the Degree Shows – Review
M.A.D.E Pick of the Degree Shows: Does what it says on the tin…
(M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
M.A.D.E Pick of the Degree Shows is a group exhibition of fourteen graduate works from South Wales Universities. As the title suggests, the work that makes up the exhibition was sourced directly from the degree shows of Cardiff School of Art & Design and The University of South Wales, so represents the most current student practice to come out of the capital.
The show brought together a collection of promising artists graduating from Welsh Universities this year whose works best demonstrate an affiliation with M.A.D.E’s endeavour to communicate the significance of, ‘self-expression as a crucial human endeavor’. Curators of the show and co-directors at M.A.D.E Zoë Gingell and Josh Leeson selected works that they felt were most ‘strong’, and feel the exhibition ‘stands up to the best of work coming out of Cardiff and its environs’; A tall order, although I would agree that the quality and diversity of the works in the space certainly warrant their inclusion in the gallery’s selection. There’s something to be said about balancing the aim to exhibit as many deserving students’ works as is possible in the space whilst maintaining the critical and physical distance necessary to surround each artwork. In this respect, it is necessary to consider the commitment to make quality artwork visible to audiences who might not have had the opportunity to visit each of the respective Degree Shows.
M.A.D.E doesn’t pretend. The space is not the expansive white cube sort we might experience at venues like Chapter’s gallery space; it has a character that calls for tricky display decisions and can account for a more intimate and relatable experience of the work. A proportionately large amount of artworks shown in the limited space of the gallery was surprisingly not to the detriment of the exhibition. Through careful placement of artworks and recognition on the part of the viewer of a few central curatorial motifs, the show remains legible and engaging and the artworks are given conceptual space enough to breathe.
(Julia Hopkins @ M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
The artists chosen for the show have all produced works deserving of recognition and I’m pleased to see two of my own ‘picks’ from the CSAD Degree Show, Julia Hopkins and Sam Wall, were part of the M.A.D.E selection. Julia’s miniature compositions implied interconnected movement, balance and reactivity. The structures were made ‘and frequently unmade’ in efforts to find some elusive meaning. Meanwhile, Sam Wall’s drawn works expanded and crawled over the page, a two-dimensional continuation of monster-making which begs, borrows and steals from the fantastic sculptural work presented as part of the artist’s Degree Show exhibition.
(Follow this link to my previous review of the Cardiff School of Art & Design Fine Art Degree Show: getthechance.wales/2016/05/27/review-csad-fine-art-degree-show-2016-amelia-seren/)
Novel approaches to storytelling were evident in several of the works. Rachel Lucas presented written descriptions in place of photographic equivalents. The accounts documented the lives of refugees and explored the desensitisation of society to a genre of harrowing images. Mikky Saunby’s ceramic works implied primitive narratives, while George Curzon casted Imogen, the artist’s sister, as the protagonist of Shakespeare’s tale, Cymbeline in a photo series exploring the trials of adolescence. Florence Fung integrated Chinese ceramic techniques into works more outwardly aligned with contemporary Western aesthetics. In Journey the artist referenced the traditional Willow Pattern, and through the craftsmanship of each piece illustrated the ‘inseparable relationship between the present and the past’.
(Mikky Saunby @ M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
Another recognisable thread, which linked works in M.A.D.E Pick of the Degree Shows, was an emphasis on personal expression through creativity. James Moore’s diptych video works, Headspace both demonstrated and validated the emotional extremes of anxiety and fear, whilst Melissa Hooper’s series of images, Unsettled explored her relationship to the outside as a sufferer of Agoraphobia. Macarena Costan also used photography as a medium, this time to question the disconnection experienced between our memories and the reality of past experiences after following a visit to her family home in Spain. Aaron Davies’ interest in issues surrounding gender identity was manifest in his ceramic compositional forms. Each piece suggested typically male or female characteristics and potentially endless combinations thereof, eliminating any inclination towards gendered binaries. Mylo Elliot’s painted works employed graffiti writing as a medium to explore language and communication of the self. Symbols and visual motifs made up a personalised hieroglyphic language subject to interpretation. The inclusion of personal experience in all of these works provided a useful entry to the artworks for empathetic viewers, and the reimagining of familiar narratives made for engaging artworks.
(Florence Fung @ M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
Consideration into the limits of specific mediums is evident in the remaining works. A reincarnation of Eloise Barratt’s light installation in the M.A.D.E gallery space made for an ambitious display. Viewers were encouraged to entertain their perception of colour as a legitimate medium by drawing attention to the illusionistic nature of colour and light. Whilst Sarah Barnes’ works explored the limitations of the Camera Obscura technique, set within the context of the custodial teen bedroom. Conor Elliot’s photographic prints undermined the visual language of art history by questioning over-familiar and preconceived ideas of what an artwork should look like. His witty photographs critique the ‘staleness’ of referential and ‘typical’ fine art using its own symbolic medium.
(Macarena Costan @ M.A.D.E (Image by ASR 2016))
Through their programme of events and workshops it is obvious that M.A.D.E possesses an ethos to nurture and support the creative and local communities. Their more recent endeavor to celebrate emerging artists is a welcome venture amongst the student community, and hopefully the general public as well! This opportunity for graduate artists to have exhibited their practice as part of an established platform affords valuable exhibition experience to all of the shows participants. Exhibitions such as this can increase the visibility of very early-career artists, encourage careers in the arts, and forge new relationships between artists graduating from creative university-level courses in South Wales.
The opportunity granted to exhibit these artworks was invaluable, nonetheless it was evident that the works chosen warranted their display, and I look forward to seeing all of the artists involved exhibiting in Cardiff and further afield in the future; A worthy show.
Florence Fung / Rachel Lucas / Julia Hopkins / Aaron Davies / Mikky Saunby / Conor Elliott / James Moore / Mylo Elliot / Eloise Barratt / Sam Wall / George Curzon / Melissa Hooper / Sarah Barnes / Macarena Costan
M.A.D.E is a hub for the arts and contemporary crafts and regularly exhibits a diverse range of artworks as well as performance showcases and pop-up events. Situated on Lochaber Street in Roath, the venue also hosts a small café which offers local and ethical produce.
(All photographs taken by the author on the occasion of the exhibition in question, for official images of works, please visit the artists’ respective websites).