'Time Passages' At Melbourne Festival 2014: Extra Time

Photo: Suzie Fletcher

This post is an addendum to my earlier account of the live art project I carried out at Melbourne Festival Of Visual & Performing Arts recently.

Photo:  Suzie Fletcher

My own photos showed ‘Time Passages’, - the large piece I worked on there, in some detail, but were singularly devoid of human content.  The reality is, of course, that you can’t be producing artwork, interacting with the public and photographing yourself all at the same time.  Luckily, my friend Suzie found time to take some between her duties as Open Exhibition organiser, which I’ve included here.  It also means I’ve broken my general rule of not including my own ugly mug on this blog.  Trust me, it won’t happen very often.

Photos:  Suzie Fletcher

Of course, when the throng was thickest in The Assembly Rooms, Suzie was also fairly preoccupied, so you’ll just have to take my word for the fact that the room was actually pretty full at regular intervals throughout the weekend.  You get the idea…

Photos: Suzie Fletcher

I don’t need to say too much more about this project but I do want to take the opportunity to include a couple of passages of writing which seem to bookend it.  Indeed my initial reading (or re-reading) of them could be said to mark the starting point and the conclusion of it, in my mind.  The first is a piece, written by Suzie herself during a Poetry Workshop at nearby Calke Abbey, earlier this year [1.].  From what I’ve read, some very impressive work resulted from these and I definitely had in mind the varying emotional responses of the writers to that antiquated environment when I began planning ‘Time Passages’.  Suzie wrote several ‘Calke Love Poems’ during the workshop and this was the one I recalled most often, as I worked on it.

Bedroom At Calke Abbey.  Photo: National Trust/John Parkinson

  

Bypass

I lost my heart to this great house

Owing to misdemeanors past

And a delicate disposition last

It’s stowed away from prying eyes

‘place unknown’ categorised

I asked the gamekeeper,

Cook and chamber maid

Have you seen my heart?

Til’ they tired of my refrain

Have you checked your pockets?

Is it on your sleeve?

Have you checked your lists

And inventories?

I retraced my steps of

A hundred years

Looked for clues

The whys and wheres

This is absurd!

Said left brain to right brain

Take the logical approach

You must have stored it under ‘h’!

And then Doubt crept in

With her theories

It could be listed under

Organs, pumps or curiosities

What about mechanisms,

Components or specimens?

Oddities, miscellanea, cornucopia

Animal, vegetable, mineral

Or ‘Other’!

You’re not helping, Doubt

Asserts right brain

Tending towards drama queen

You’re both being ridiculous

This is all in vain

It’s plainly not filed anywhere

It’s lost in hell without a spare! 

A heated argument ensued

I retreated to a darkened room

And only when

I had lost hope too

It dawned on me

How deeply I love you

Nailed to the wall for all to see

I pass my heart every day

Unbeknownst to me [2.].

The 'Potting Shed' At Calke Abbey.  Photo: Phillip Sangwell

The second piece is the final passage of ‘Alices’s Adventures In Wonderland’.  As already described in my earlier post, that was the other suggested source that fed into my thinking about the project at the start; and it really triggered my ideas about subjective time in the final piece.  It was a pleasure to return to Carroll’s text again after some years, and to discover the rather lovely closing section.  It’s perhaps a little sentimental for some tastes, but I do find it rather moving.  It differs from the rest of the book’s fantastical tone in being a a more grown up reflection, from the perspective of Alice’s older sister, on the nature of dream time and the subjective memories of childhood that dwell deep within us all [3.].

Sir John Tenniel, Illustration From 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'

“‘Wake up, Alice dear!’ said her sister.  ‘Why, what a long sleep you’ve had!’

‘Oh, I’ve had such a curious dream!’ said Alice, and she told her sister, as well as she could remember them, all the strange Adventures of hers that you have just been reading about; and when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said, ‘It was a curious dream, dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it’s getting late.’  So Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been.”

“But her sister sat still just as she left her, leaning her head on her hand, watching the setting sun, and thinking of little Alice and all her wonderful Adventures, till she too began dreaming after a fashion, and this was her dream:

“First, she dreamed of little Alice herself, and once again the tiny hands were clasped upon her knee, and the bright, eager eyes were looking up into hers – she could hear the very tones of her voice, and see that queer little toss of her head to keep back the wandering hair that would always get into her eyes – and still as she listened, or seemed to listen, the whole place around her seemed alive with the strange creatures of her little sister’s dream.

“The long grass rustled at her feet as the White Rabbit hurried by – the frightened Mouse splashed his way through the neighbouring pool – she could hear the rattle of teacups as the March Hare and his friends shared their never-ending meal, and the shrill voice of the Queen ordering off her unfortunate guests to execution – once more the pig-baby was sneezing on the Duchess’s knee, while plates and dishes crashed around it – once more the shriek of the Gryphon, the squeaking of the Lizard’s slate-pencil, and the air, mixed up with the distant sobs of the miserable Mock Turtle.

“So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull reality – the grass would be only rustling in the wind, and the pool rippling to the waving of the reeds – the rattling teacups would change to tinkling sheep-bells, and the Queen’s shrill cries to the voice of the Shepherd boy – and the sneeze of the baby, the shriek of the Gryphon, and all the other queer noises, would change (she knew) to the confused clamour of the busy farm-yard – while the lowing of the cattle in the distance would take the place of the Mock Turtle’s heavy sobs.

“Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of childhood; and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life and the happy summer days.” [4.]

Sir John Tenniel, Illustration To 'Alice's Adventures
In Wonderland'.

[1.]:  Part of the programme of such workshops run by 'Expressium Poetics'.

[2.]:  Suzie Fletcher, 'Bypass', From 'Calke Love Poems'  (A Series Of Pieces Written In Response To The Environment And Memories Of Calke Abbey, Derbyshire).

[3.]:  There has been much speculation about the exact nature of Carroll’s (in reality, Rev. Charles Dodgson), relationship with young Alice Liddell, on whom his heroine was modeled and for whom the book was penned.  I guess it’s hard not to be suspicious in these cynical, sex-obsessed times, but for now, I’m content to keep an open mind and hope that his real motive was to revel in the innocence and imagination of childhood, and nothing more sinister.  The truth is, of course, rarely black and white.

[4.]:  Lewis Carroll, ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’, London, Macmillan, 1865

Completed Live Art Project: 'Time Passages' At Melbourne Festival 2014

'Time Passages', Acrylics & Paper Collage With Picture Frames On Three Joined Panels,
210 cm X 360cm (Overall), 2014.

I spent much of this summer, working on a project that finally reached its culmination the other weekend at Melbourne Festival of Visual & Performing Arts 2014.  Sadly, my activities have yet to go global though; this Melbourne is a small town in Derbyshire, in the British East Midlands, which hosts a surprisingly ambitious programme of events under the Festival banner, over an extended weekend each Autumn.  Numerous exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations and performances are staged in a variety of public buildings, private homes and gardens.  Pleasingly, the town’s location, within easy reach of the cities of Derby, Nottingham and Leicester, also means that the Festival attracts large numbers of visitors and participating artists, makers and performers each year.

Marketplace, Melbourne, Derbyshire.  (Photographer Unknown).

Alongside the ‘Art Trail’ of individual exhibits scattered around the town is an Open Exhibition that my close friend Suzie regularly helps to coordinate.  For several years the attempt has been to extend this show beyond the customary remit of such an event, both by including a themed ‘Art Café’ within the same venue, and by varying the range of art experiences available to visitors.  Thus it was that, some months ago, over a pub table, we hatched the plan for the live art project that eventually became entitled ‘Time Passages’.

The basis of the piece was a series of three large panels, joined edge to edge and filling an area of wall a little over two metres high by three and a half metres wide.  These were covered in layers of collage and paint, using a variety of paper material, both original and salvaged.  That’s pretty much the preferred M.O. for much of my recent work.  However, it’s never been on this kind of scale before, which partly explains why the work ate up most of the summer break from my school employment.  Stylistically, the panels differed somewhat from much of my other work too, including as they did, illustrative references to themes and a loose brief that were presented to me at the outset.

'Time Passages', In Progress, Saturday Morning, 13 September, 2014.

The challenge was to bridge the theme of ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’ [1.], (which also provided an identifier for the Café), and work produced during several poetry workshops carried out at nearby Calke Abbey in recent months [2.].  After a little thought I chose to connect these somewhat disparate ideas by focusing on the element of Time.  The ‘Alice’ books have obvious classic status, and have been favourites of mine since childhood, so it was no chore to revisit the text.  It soon became evident that the ambiguities of time, in various forms, (not least, subjective Dream Time, and a child’s subjective perception of time), is a major thread running through Carroll’s ‘Wonderland’ tale.  I don’t spend much time hanging around stately homes, generally, but it was easy enough to tap into the idea of the passage of time being revealed through the physical fabric of an historical building.  I was conscious that the link between architectural context and the biographies of previous incumbents had been key within much of the work produced by the visiting writers.  In broad terms, that isn’t too far away from many of the concerns of my own regular work, albeit with a more urban focus.

'Time Passages', In Progress, Sunday Morning, 14 September 2014.

In the event, the panel artwork evolved in a relatively organic and abstract manner, with various motifs alluding to some of the above, including clock faces, numerals, book bindings, hearts and diamonds, and sections of peeling wallpaper, crumbling plaster and exposed brickwork.  Although each board was produced separately, care was taken to ensure they sat together visually, without actually following through.  Once this artwork was completed, a series of assorted empty picture frames, painted red to differentiate them from the background and provide some visual continuity, were attached to the front of the panels.  These were to provide holders for the smaller elements actually produced live over the festival weekend. 

'Time Passages', Left Panel, Completed State

'Time Passages', Central Panel, Completed State.

'Time Passages', Right Panel, Completed State

The project had evolved without much in the way of preparatory drawings, studies, etc. butI was reasonably pleased with it when I saw it completely set up for the first time in Melbourne’s Assembly Rooms.  It was actually gratifying to discover I could pull off something on this scale fairly instinctively and without too much time to backtrack or pause for reflection.  My only major regret was that, due to a debilitating virus towards the end, I effectively lost a couple of weekends’ worth of working time.  Hopefully, only I missed those finishing touches I just didn’t have time to include.  In fact, most artists know it can be useful to have the occasional unmovable deadline or unforeseen event to prevent every last nut and bolt being over-tightened, in any case.

'Time Passages (Old)', Acrylics & Paper Collage On Panel, Inserted Into Found Picture Frame

The pieces produced and installed into the frames, over the weekend, took the form of boards bearing selected passages of text from ‘Alice’ and copies of John Tenniel’s original illustrations.  Over these were stenciled and collaged further phrases and words, mostly homing in on specific references to time and inspired by them.  My original intention had been that festival visitors would join me in producing these live elements, but despite various invitations, the only visitors really inclined to participate were children, a few of whom dawdled long enough to assist with a little strategic glueing and stenciling.  The results were inevitably somewhat ad-hoc, and lacked the degree of finish I’d normally aim for. This was inevitable though, given the time available and I was able to bring the overall piece to some kind of conclusion.  The smallest frames remained unfilled at the end, but without really leaving the overall piece looking badly unfinished.

'Time Passages (While)', Acrylics & Paper Collage On Board, Inserted Into Found Picture Frame

If the overall project unfolded as far more of a live-art situation than a workshop; in retrospect, I think far more structured planning would have been needed for it to really function otherwise.  Having been involved in that kind of thing in the past, my experience is that one’s own role becomes mainly about facilitating the creativity of others.  In this case, I settled for the project being mostly my own work.  I think this was the right decision as many visitors were passing through The Assembly Rooms as just one venue on a list of several within the overall Festival.  Greater public participation may have required advance management of people’s expectations, and a willingness to linger rather longer in one place.

'Time Passages, (Late)', Acrylics & Paper Collage On Board Inserted Into Found Picture Frame

Nevertheless, people were far from disengaged from my activities and, over the two days, I enjoyed numerous conversations with folk keen to find out what it was all about.  It was also gratifying that three of my pre-existing paintings, exhibited alongside ‘Time Passages’, drew a fair amount of attention too.  The general opinion seemed to be that the most recent piece was the most successful, which I’ll take as evidence that I must be doing something right.  In reality, my work may have been slightly out of place alongside the still-lives, landscapes and flower paintings comprising much of the open exhibition.  Plenty of that work was more than competent in execution, however, and I was happy to simply represent a rather different (and possibly unexpected) take on things.  As ever, it felt instructive to see pieces I’ve lived at close quarters in a different context, if only to discover how they might fare out in the world.

'Together 1', Closed 1' & 'Consumed 1', Melbourne Festival Open Exhibition,  September 2014

'Together 1', Acrylics & Paper Collage On Panel, 100cm X 100 cm, 2011

I enjoyed my two days of public exposure at Melbourne Festival, even if working on ‘Time Passages’ effectively put everything else on hold for a couple of months.  Actually, this was one of my reasons for agreeing to do it originally.  Although my creative progress has been fairly steady over the last year or eighteen months, the work hasn’t always flowed seamlessly, and I’ve been a bit ambiguous about some of the results.  Working outside my normal comfort zone, and to an agenda not totally my own, was an attempt to shake things up a little, in the hope I’d come out the other side a little more inspired and energised.

'Closed 1', Acrylics & Paper Collage On Panel, 100 cm X 100 cm, 2012

'Consumed 1', Acrylics & Paper Collage On Panel, 100 cm X 100 cm, 2014

That’s the point I’m at now so, having caught my breath, it’s up to me to ensure that is the case.  The next few months will be all about working towards an exhibition I’m planning with Andrew Smith in Rugby next summer. There’s plenty of stuff to be getting on with, therefore.  My presence at Melbourne Festival marked just the start of a period of more public exposure for my artistic efforts, - something that is obviously set to continue into 2015.  I’ll still be diving into the back bedroom as often as possible, but it seems it’s time for the work to start emerging, blinking into the light, increasingly too.

'Together 1', 'Closed 1' & 'Consumed 1', Melbourne Festival Open Exhibition, September 2014

[1.]:  Lewis Carroll, ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’, London, Macmillan, 1865.

[2.]:  Organised by Expressium Poetics.