I Remember All, exhibition installation of video and performance, 2017

Abstract

I Remember All is an exhibition that challenges the authorship of written creative works once they have been adapted into another medium, in this case as a Visual Artwork.
The spoken material comes from a play written by Anton Chekhov in 1895 called The Seagull. His representation of a female actress within the play is at odds with the monologue she is given to recite. I Remember All seeks to give the original words new meaning and centre stage in line with current events (the ≠me too movement) therefor charging every individual performing and viewing the work with the right to connect to the Earth and give credence to their instincts.
The sung material comes from the chorus to Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side (1972), variations on the chorus are used in conjunction with the spoken word of the actress on film to heighten moments of emotion and tension. By using the function of pop music and the earworm to weave a narrative that rapidly becomes the fabric of one’s surroundings, Rendle attempts to question the use of current media platforms where critical dialogue can be swayed by popular opinion, and the idea that whoever shouts the loudest, is the most visible and will affect change over those who’s voices cannot be heard.
The installation positions the audience below the female soprano performers where the recorded soundtrack is heard, and the large hanging back projected video work can be seen. This makes the sixteen sopranos occupying the space above the audience on the Egyptian Balcony in the Harris Museum and Art Gallery, the dominant force of the work. The overpowering voices of the sopranos from above dictate the mood and atmosphere in the gallery as well as which words are audible, and which are not.
Actress Nicola Ferguson gives an electric performance in the film made prior to this event, taking on the monologue from the Seagull as her own words.
The work is relentless in its struggle to be heard, to be taken seriously and to be adhered to.

I Remember All has been funded and/ or supported by Arts Council England, University of Central Lancashire and Harris Museum and Art Gallery.