Pompe, Pompe, Pompe in the spirit of Dionysus!
Pompe was a tragic-comic canal procession of art performances and music from Regents Park to a remarkable crypt underneath Saint Mary Magdalene Church, Little Venice.
As a refreshing antidote to Frieze Art Fair, we celebrated the spirit of Art and using the fleeting nature of the performances attempted to mock the domineering commercialism in the art world.
The site of Frieze was the departure point for the canal boat ‘Dazzler’ captained by local boater Robert Salomon. Pompe encountered performances by young artists, musicians and dancers on bridges and tow paths and involved members of the local community.
For Pompe Dionysus was present in his role as the great liberator from the self-conscious; his wine, music and dance frees his followers and subverts the oppressive restraints of the powerful. He is the protector of those who do not belong to conventional society and symbolises the chaotic, dangerous and unexpected, acting as a powerful rebel figure.
Pompe celebrated contemporary art's capacity to be inclusive and aimed to inspire a wider community who encountered it in the public space, everyone was encouraged to join Pompe!
Pompe was filmed and edited by George South
Zoe Marden, Imogen Lloyd, Allegra Fitzherbert, Neil Luck and Adam de la Cour, Well Suited, Eloise Lawson, STASIS, Alistair Sutherland, James St Findlay and Harvey Lancaster-Rous.
With huge thank you to Robert Salomon and Emma Freemantle for all their help and support.
Thank you to Fred Marriage and Jasper Fry for their excellent photography.
Performances:
1 The Raving Ones, Zoe Marden.
Find the inner rave. Desire to dissolve. Don’t ever stop.
Choreography in collaboration with Carla Piscitelli. Performing with Caley Holmdoe, Eniye Kagbala, Clio Marden, Jody Pearcy, Joni Zhu. Costumes by Rachel Schofield Owen. Music by PHRH
2 Bridging The Gap, Well Suited.
A satirical embodiment of a public lecture mixed with an archaic preach highlighting the gap between high profile art and the lived realities of artists striving for success.
3 Charade, Neil Luck and Adam de la Cour.
Restaging 3 parts of the horror film set in Venice “Don’t Look Now”, by Nicholas Roeg. Using text, tap dancing, table-top object manipulation and other things.
4 Spin The Groom, Imogen Lloyd (ongoing).
A wedding cake infused with playground rituals escorted by Cupid on a hen do.
5 The Second Blast Of The Trumpet Against The Monstrous Regiment Of Women, STASIS.
No more apathy. #Imightsurvive
6 What are you willing to tell me? What do I want to find out? Eloise Lawson.
Confessions! Secrets! Desires! Let us free them from the boats!
7 Alistair Sutherland
Pimpinella: Florentine Song by P. I. Tchaikovsky.
8 I Am The Serpent Coiled Tightly In The Stomach Of A Glorious God, James St Findlay and Harvey Lancaster-Rous.
Snakes everywhere! Hissing in the grass at the foot of Mount Nymphus.
St Mary Magdalene Church in Paddington
Pompe is made possible thanks to the support of St Mary Magdalene Church which will host a site-specific group show curated by Galitzine Mackenzie in December 2016 in its spectacular crypt.
The church, together with Paddington Development Trust, is raising funds to create a community and heritage hub as well as support restoration of the church building.
It is a Grade 1 listed church and is recognised as an outstanding example of Neo-Gothic architecture. This Development Project aims to transform the building into a heritage, community, culture and arts hub in order to enrich, regenerate and bring greater cultural cohesion to the local area.
Please donate generously here to help make this project a reality.