Unicorn Theatre Press Release August 2006
"Artist Erika Winstone is developing a new installation work specifically for the Caryl Jenner balcony during her residency at the Unicorn Theatre this summer. The installation will incorporate a silverpoint drawing made in public onto the Unicorn wall and one false wall drawn in private. The silverpoint wall drawing will be a transitory work, existing only for the period of the exhibition and evolving throughout. The inspiration for the work is a video of the cast filmed in rehearsal and performing in the theatre the current Unicorn production of OZ, alongside footage from the film The Wizard of Oz.
Erika writes: “My current practice involves working with definitions of performance in relation to process. I am involved in an exploration of the question of where a performance really begins and ends. I am working with the notion of whether the memory of a performance and the response to it is not also part of the performance and whether the time for that response is perhaps unlimited.
I have used videos of performances by others as a main source for my work for a number of years. I now plan to put myself in the position of one of the performers through the act of drawing in public; exploring and extending my use of time in the presentation of the work, to develop relationships between drawings on walls, which are ephemeral; video, which is virtual; and live performance, as an acknowledgement of the present.
I use video as a screen through which to examine ideas of spontaneity and repetition through drawing repeatedly from the same sequence, investigating how acts of interpretation affect a constant. Given a discrepancy between a person’s actions & words, the actions will be believed every time. I layer verbal and visual rhythms from related footage of performances from different periods, I hope to evolve a synchronic energy field while simultaneously excavating the rich inherent surface memory of these walls.
I draw with materials which change over time, for example silver which tarnishes, or drilling with a small sandpaper bit revealing the previous history of the wall’s surface.”
The artist is drawing in public for periods throughout the performance of the production of “OZ” from 4th August to 10th September 2006. Contact the Unicorn box office for times.
Erika Winstone was born in London, and studied at Camberwell College of Art and the Slade School. Her solo exhibition The Talent Show took place at ShillamSmith3 earlier this year. Recent group exhibitions include Love Story at Danielle Arnaud Contemporary Art and Be Ready Heart, For Parting, New Endeavour at the Great Eastern Hotel.
