Notes on Visiting Artist No. 4: Serena Korda

Start with inspiration: early 1980’s – 1990’s pre-CGI horror films

A short history of the world by H.G.Wells

Focus on over looked or forgotten stories

Likes showing the process in her work – won’t just exhibit final pieces but will show the how the work has developed.

Believes that objects have a secret life and aims to show it – puppets, the relationship between people and objects

Korda did a one week residency at Camden Arts Centre in which she decided to let the public takeover the work she produced – had many polystyrene bricks which looked like wood and lets people create their own structures like a game of giant Jenga. This exposes the process – it become the art along with the finished result.  She then created a performance around the ‘wooden’ blocks – it was magical and fairy-tale.

Dirt:

1836, the dust heap – brick makers brought the dust to make bricks with for cheaper buildings. The towns where growing out of their own dust. She collected dust from places and family and friends to make bricks then buried them in a public park – wanted to take the work outside of a gallery – so everyone could see it.  Also did a performance – the brick makers dance – using the movements that she made when making the bricks. It’s very physical hard work – and the dance was very flowing and warm.

WAMA – dance phrase:

Sheep – cotton

May pole dancing

First art council grant – make own film

Madness - not being able to express themselves

Beatle mania – women just seem to scream, relationship between fans and musicians stopped being about the music

Animal symbolism: spider – women

Our fears come out in our music/films

It asks the audience to work harder

15ft monster – took 5 people to puppeteer it. Made of chicken wire, bamboo, clay etc…

Too big for the studio – challenge

Blackpool tower – circus - animals - who’s looking at who

Have life breathe into it by people

Boggets – folklore: the awaking by school kids

Film of black cat – 13^th – familiar, house, domestic

Black cat auditions – went round to people houses and got a still image of the cat.

Sculptural – eye level, like a Dalek, eyes of the cat in the screen

The places are to do with the art – thought through

1940’s sink a ship performance

Directed – storyboard, crew, low budget, 1 day shoot, short film

Performance – momentarily, documentation of an event, not too worried about the quality – it just proves that it happen, it exists.