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The subtitle to this article may sound like a negative, but its most definitely not. The MK Gallery's new Scratch Nights take the current exhibition and then find performers to express themselves using the overall theme of the art that's on display ...
one of the burlesque performers at mkg
The current exhibition of Marcus Coates is a bit out there and to be honest I did find it all a bit weird. From the scribbled ramblings on the wall to the balloon hat and beheaded owl ... theres a lot of it that I could probably do just as well should I find the time and the inspiration.
However, the saving grace of the exhibition is the main hall with the projector screens and bird song. I have to admit that this exhibit alone displays the true genius of the man. Who would have thought to go into a woodland clearing, record the bird song, then get members of the public to replicate the song in their own natural surroundings to display on massive screens? I just loved it. I kept wandering back into the projector hall to get another taste ...
I've been to MKG twice in two weeks, and each time different groups of performers were in attendance. The first presentation was by the ARCO collective who used a number of different instruments around the gallery to demonstrate their understanding of the work.
Now you know I love a good performance ... with my attendances at venues around the city ... but actually having it happen almost in the crowd itself ... in different parts of the gallery (rather than in front of you on a stage) was quite un-nerving. That's where the disconnection in the subtitle comes in and for the ARCO Collective evening, I didn't quite understand what it was all about. I understood the outfits even less but was assured it was because Mr Coates is quite big in Japan ...
So not a great introduction for me, but I thought I'd give it another go, and went back last Thursday for the Burlesque performance courtesy of The Red Velvet Curtain Cult. Now it maybe because it was all very feminine that it appealed to me more, but I did find this particular evening more to my liking and I just went with the flow when different performances were happening around me.
click on any thumbnail to see the larger image
My favourite part of the evening was the cupboard based Tarot reading and although I suspect that all the cards where in fact the same, the lady in the red dress ... in the red cupboard ... told me something I needed to hear and I still feel quite groovy about it even now.
I asked her the significance of the colour red and she whispered to me that as a child she had a reoccurring dream about a lady in red, in a red room giving her a tarot reading that she can't quite hear. And so the dreamer became the dream ... and the recursiveness of that story appealed to the both the mathematician and the poet within me.
I think for someone who isn't used to performance art like that, the first couple of events you attend at MKG may be a bit confusing ... maybe even unnerving as I said before. But I believe that it is worth the effort for novices like myself, because it opens up a new way to look at art in the 21st century.
If it's something that you're genuinely interested in and fancy a couple of hours of interpreted performance then the Scratch Nights are most definitely for you!
I shall certainly be going back for some more disconnection ...
Until next time ...
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