Dance First, Think Later – Maeve Rendle – I Remember All

Wednesday 5 April 2017
7.00 – 7.20pm

A spectacular free film and performance work by
Maeve Rendle

Maeve Rendle takes fragments of a monologue from Chekhov’s play
The Seagull to create a new, looping script that resonates powerfully with the present.  This is a unique chance to experience this brand new work in the museum’s breathtaking atrium.

The new script was performed to camera in the artist’s studio by Scottish actress Nicola Ferguson. As Nicola opens her mouth to speak, a chorus sings the familiar backing melody of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side, threatening to derail her. Ferguson’s blistering performance is pushed to the limit, echoing the trials and tribulations of the Soul of the World who, wearied by the deeds of men, reminds us that history is a stage upon which all things happen, and all things are seen.

In 1896, three years after the Harris Museum & Art Gallery opened its doors to the public, the premiere of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull was staged in St Petersburg. The play, now considered one of Chekhov’s finest, was a critical and commercial flop. This performance continues Rendle’s research into literary and dramatic moments of transcendence.

Although destined for exploitation and obscurity, the character of Nina in the play is given an epic monologue that is both a reminder and a foretelling of horrors witnessed and perpetrated by the human race. It suggests, through a cosmic fusing of souls, that the thoughts and actions of the individual are indivisible from the whole. I Remember All resuscitates Chekhov’s play and Nina’s portrayal of the World Spirit, transforming the words from their original context and revealing the extraordinary power and timelessness of the text.

Where? Museum Rotunda (ground floor)
What time? 7.00-7.20pm
Cost? Free
Do I need to book in advance? Yes, booking essential at Eventbrite
Other important information: Please note the audience will stand for the performance, although stools will be available if required.

Maeve Rendle is a British artist based in Preston, Lancashire. Recent projects include solo exhibitions Gabriel’s Gretta, Gretta’s Gabriel at The International 3, Salford and Unframe at the Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, group exhibitions New and recent acquisitions for the Grundy Collection, Grundy Art Gallery, Die Dritte Hand Last Exit Painting, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin, Innsbruck International Festival of the Arts, The Way We Do Art Now, Tanya Leighton Gallery, Berlin and performances at Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester Contemporary, Poppositions Brussels and London Art Fair. She is the recipient of a University of Central Lancashire research grant and Arts Council England Artists’ International Development Fund grant, which supported the research and development of I Remember All. She was nominated for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Visual Arts in 2014 and for the Northern Art Prize in 2008. Maeve Rendle is represented by The International 3.

The Harris Museum & Art Gallery has commissioned I Remember All with additional support from the University of Central Lancashire and The International 3.

Dance First, Think Later

This exhibition is part of the Harris Museum’s Dance First, Think Later programme of contemporary art which has been supported by the following funders: