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Showing posts with label re-imaging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label re-imaging. Show all posts

Saturday, 9 July 2022

Artlyst - Re-imagining Essex July 2022 Diary

My July diary for Artlyst has mentions for Michael Landy at Firstsite, Elsa James at Focal Point Gallery, George Morl at Southend High Street, and Grayson Perry at Salisbury Cathedral as I focus on the ways in which the image of Essex is currently being questioned, challenged and re-framed by artists and exhibitions in and from Essex:

‘Othered in a region that has been historically Othered’ is a major new film that comes in three chapters moving from initial experiences of being othered, through the Grenadian island ritual of Jab Jab which provides a transformative moment, into a final chapter that imagines a new future for Essex by taking the othering and turning it ‘into a zone of possibility and new dreaming.’ Unlike her earlier films in which the actual stories of othered Essex residents were re-told, these films feature James herself channelling through her performance – she equates this, in an interview with Ekow Eshun, to Christians receiving the Holy Spirit – the experience of being othered and of re-imagining.

Her performances in these films are based both on historical research into the persecution of women as witches in Essex in the mid-17th century by the infamous Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins, and focus groups held in Essex with asylum-seekers and refugees, black students, and the LGBTQIA+ community. From the focus groups have come phrases and concepts which have been incorporated into the lyrics and poetry that feature in the films. In this mix of words, sounds and images, James looks within ‘to find the source / of that redemptive’ and asks ‘What would Essex look like if the norm got turned on its head and the ‘Othered’ became the norm?’

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -
Articles -
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Curtis Mayfield - We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue.
Posted by Jonathan Evens at 22:39 0 comments
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Saturday, 22 September 2018

Re-imaging faith & contemplating art

I'm looking forward to speaking at St Luke's Maidenhead on Thursday 27 September at 7.45pm. I'll be giving an illustrated presentation on 'Visual Art: re-imaging the Christian story'. Details here.

In my talk I'll be arguing that the Gospel story needs to be told afresh for every generation. Art used by the church similarly needs to be re-imaged and re-imagined for each generation. My ordained ministry has provided a wide range of opportunities to engage with such re-imaging and I therefore want to share some examples from the churches with which I have been associated to explore the benefits to the Church of engaging with this re-imaging.

In the talk that I gave last Thursday at the HeartEdge church & culture event on visual art at St Cuthbert's Edinburgh argued that the kind of looking that is needed to view art has significant synergies with the practices of prayer and contemplation in the Christian tradition. In the talk I highlighted the ways in which slowness, stillness and silence aid contemplation in both contexts and suggested that paying attention begins with an immersion in dimensions and details before considering sources, context and responses.

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Michael McDermott - Carry Your Cross.

Posted by Jonathan Evens at 17:23 0 comments
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