Art Trail 2008
This year an intimate woodland trail takes you on a
mysterious journey of storytelling, theatre, games and myth with artworks by
Gavin Turk and Deborah Curtis, Lucienne Cole, Simon Faithfull, Paul Gittins,
Juneau Projects, Kathleeen Herbert, Francis Upritchard, Helen Maurer, Grace
Ndiritu and Melanie Stidolph. Curated by Alice Sharp.
Inspired by the captivating Eastnor landscape, animal inhabitants and history
- sculpture, video, performance, photography and interactive theatre will
guide you from moonrise into the night. Through ancient trees, into grass
clearings, over bridges to the undergrowth of mythical imagination and fairy
tale fantasy, you are invited to partake in the art (and nature) trail with an
open mind, as each encounter and experience will reveal the unexpected, taking
you on an unforgettable journey through magical locations tucked away from the
main festival site.
Photo credit: Simon Steven
Illuminated light boxes by Melanie Stidolph show photographs
taken through repeated visits to Eastnor. Capturing low key moments in the
life of the park and transforming them into iconic images open to wider
readings.
The House of Fairytales in association with Gavin Turk and Deborah
Curtis, features many special guests from the fairytale world.
Visitors are invited to evening programs of storytelling and then at 10.30pm
nightly there will be a special performance enacted by half life size puppets,
of ‘Waiting for Gavo' by the Live Stock Market Studio; a corrupted homage to
Samuel Becket's masterpiece.
Fake Moon by Simon Faithfull is a perplexing apparition. On a
moonless night a powerful light housed in helium balloon will imitate the
lunar path of the missing planet - illuminating the festival crowd as it rises
high and gradually sets across the night sky.
Responsible Tourism: Camel Riders is a video by Grace Ndiritu
which, is set to the hypnotic rhythms of West African music. Made during a
visit to Mali, the images of camels are looped into a short sequence so that
the movement repeats in an apparently endless circle.
Lucienne Cole creates ‘The Woodland Factory meets The Prisoner in The
Village of The Damned to a soundtrack of Siouxsie and The Banshees'.
Berkley brolly dancers dressed in black and white capes are armed with glue
guns and shoot glitter and song amongst giant flowers, getting busy/jiggy with
it, smashing pinatas while the bunting flies.
Stable by Kathleen Herbert is a poetic film produced in
response to her year long residency at Gloucester Cathedral. It is a super
16mm film of an event that she orchestrated, where for one night horses were
brought into the Cathedral to walk freely through and explore the architecture
of the space.
Electric Shadow House by Paul Gittins. Based on the medieval
work, Piers Plowman, a mesmerising shadow play recounts the dream visions of a
poet, who sleeps by a stream in the Malvern Hills.
Set Dance by Helen Maurer. A strange, slow moving visual tale
under canvas - where objects, mirrors, flowers & theatrical props take on a
new life. Originally commissioned for the Winter Garden Ballroom in
Eastbourne, the piece is reconfigured for the Big Chill where the dance
continues.
Sewn to the Sky by Juneau projects is a computer game with a
difference. Players control the game by playing music as a band, using
customised, sculptural rock band instruments. Their aim is to guide an owl
through a scrolling tapestry-like landscape, avoiding obstacles and enemies
along the way. No musical skill is needed, just enthusiasm and team spirit!
Oh, how strange to meet your hair! by Francis Upritchard.
Evolutionary psychedelic figures, bell jars and roots of a Yew tree form part
of a new visionary landscape
Photo courtesy of Kate MacGarry, London
"The Art Trail has established itself as a significant part of the Big Chill
festival specialising in presenting artworks in an exceptional setting. The
2008 Art Trail builds on its ten year history which has included
internationally recognized artists Gary Hume, Ackroyd and Harvey, Zatorski and
Zatorski and Brian Eno".
Alice Sharp - Curator
Alice Sharp - Curator
Molly Rigg - Project Assistant and Education Coordinator
Melanie Smith - Co Producer
Sam Collins and Scott Martin - Production