A Fall Into Grace

Context

The Stiwdio Safle funding programme was established with funding from Arts Council of Wales to encourage innovative arts practice in the public realm by supporting artists to develop their practice in the public realm and encouraging private and public sector organisations to commission and engage contemporary artists in their programmes of work.

For this project Jackie Chettur developed ideas of theatricality that had begun to evolve from a previous body of work by exploring the intensity of first love through photography, colour, narrative and the language of the theatre.

What Addo Did

Addo provided project management and curatorial support to artist Jackie Chettur on behalf of the Arts Council of Wales, including:

• Liaising between the Arts Council of Wales and Jackie
• Providing curatorial advise and support to Jackie
• Processing invoices
• Monitoring the progress and schedule of the project
• Providing regular project reports to the Arts Council of Wales
• Organising a closing event and discussion.

Outcomes & Legacy

Working with young actors, Jackie Chettur created a series of photographic tableaux depicting an archetypal love story. The photographs, presented as a series of stereoscopic photographs, aim to celebrate the romantic and give the illusion that life is taking place within the image. Jackie spent time talking with theatre professionals at The Coliseum Theatre in Aberdare and working with young amateur actors to enact her love story. The settings to the story were elaborately crafted and consist of dramatic and colourful painted backdrops and handcrafted props.

Jackie also collected love stories and photographic portraits from visitors to the theatre. These real love stories and portraits were displayed with Jackie’s imagined love story in 3D images in an exhibition called A fall into grace, which occupied the auditorium of The Coliseum from 28th June to 1st July 2011.

Jackie worked with the theatre technicians to stage the work using lighting and the theatres PA. The images were displayed within 12 stereo viewers, half set out on the stage looking out to the auditorium and half set out in circle looking down at the stage. The audience were invited to wander through the theatre space to experience the love stories available through image, text and audio. The Coliseum provided match funding, both in kind and actual monies, to support the development and display of Jackie’s work at the theatre.

A closing event and discussion was held on 1st July 2011, at which Jackie discussed her work with Hamish Fyfe, Professor of Arts and Society, University of Glamorgan, Dr Helen Sear, Reader in Photography and Fine Art Practice at the European Centre for Photographic Research Newport and Jackie’s mentor for the project, and Anne Hayes Arts Development Officer-Regeneration, RCTCBC. The discussion enabled visitors to the exhibition to learn more about the work and also provided Jackie with invaluable critical feedback.

The title for the work is taken from David Batchelor’s book Chromophobia (2000), in which he says “Colour is both a fall into nature, which may in turn be a fall from grace or a fall into grace, and against nature, which may result in a corruption of nature or freedom from its corrupting forces” (p.71). Jackie has drawn an analogy between this fall into colour, or fall into grace, and the experience of falling in love, particularly the colourful, explosive and emotional rollercoaster of first love. This analogy was reflected in Jackie’s use of colour and theatricality in the presentation of the A fall into grace installation.