My Horn is a Chalice


I am enamoured with the beauty and mystery of the unicorn. I must confess - it is a rapturous crush. I am carried away.








A threshold; a journey through time and space.  A transition of state of mind or atmosphere. 

In medieval times the unicorn was represented in apochryphal tales of the divine conception, and then in the Renaissance as an allegory of courtly love.  It is believed that its wild nature only becomes submissive in the presence of a virgin, where it will nuzzle up to her and gently lay its head down in her lap - at which point it is also vulnerable to capture.  Other beliefs are that the horn has healing properties, against poison and also as an aphrodisiac. 

I realised this work as a sound installation for the exhibition The Ghost in the Machine situated at St Mary's Old Church, which dates back to 1563. The piece was situated in a small vestibule, which lead from an entrance to the church that was commonly known as 'The Poor Door,' and which also lead directly into the Vestry.  I felt that this placement of the work resounded with my original intention.   

Andrew Dickens sound engineered the piece. 

 

Cod Piece: A Split Tale

Cod Piece: A Split Tale is a performance video projection. The music was produced in collaboration with Fyn Wyre.

The 'narrative' focuses on the dual character of the Siren/Mermaid (Sea Weed Woman) and the Cod's Head, who exists in the position of a cod piece, beneath her skirts. 

Shown 27-30th January 2011 at the Bargehouse on London's Southbank

A short excerpt of the video is shown here:

sea weed woman rises up from the murky depths of the mind of the artist

She is something like a mermaid or a siren.

She has long blonde hair and a flowing gown of sea green and blue.

Her lips are blue and swollen to monstrous proportions; her complexion is pallid.

Beneath her skirts, situated in the position of a cod-piece, is a cod's head.

Her songs are designed to lure us.

She rises up from the ocean; she floats upon the dark waters of the lake at the bottom of the mountain; she appears at the cliff's edge.

This much I could tell you about the character I had been developing for my video, 'Cod Piece: A Split Tale.'

In early December, I got together with Sam Timms, a theatrical make up artist, and Anna Lytridou, artist, for a photo shoot.