Ashes to Ashes performance at CAS 10th Anniversary



Ashes to Ashes; Performance21st March 2019St Mary's Church



Ashes to Ashes is a performance which was developed following a visit to The Jungle, refugee camp in Calais, during which the camp was devastated by a storm and fire, in 2015.
The performance investigates the process of destruction/creation which is inherent to nature and to our life as human on earth. The work sends our gaze beyond the camp, and brings to the surface the global issues of migration and climate change, two forces which are intricately linked. 

The work is developed as a continuous process where Laurence reproduces the rectangular shape of the 40 shelters which were destroyed on the night of her visit. 

The work sits amongst the visitors who may or may not notice its presence, while walking through the space and erasing the shapes in their footsteps. 
In the middle of each rectangle, a hole shaped with a small tin recovered from the wreckage, that night, acts as a key to  feeling and understanding loss and grief. The repeating of the action may offer a key to our resilience and survival.

The ‘Letter to Fantnu’, a lost message written on her return home, is offered to visitors in the performance space.

The performance was first acted in July 2016, during ‘Playground’, at Hansard Gallery.

‘In the current context of Brexit, I wish to revisit this performance to understand it again. The work explores the impact an artwork may have as an emotional and empathic tool to raise global awareness and trigger a move towards action.’















http://www.chapelartsstudios.co.uk/portfolio/ashes-to-ashes/

'I was very moved by the art installation in last night. A solemn tribute to displaced people, in a beautiful setting. Congratulations on celebrating 10 years...always chuffed to work with you! '

https://twitter.com/CharlsConst/status/1109097444850262017

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