Dots & Lines Group Project
The final plan for our group project came together through the linking inspiration of 'The Hero's Journey'. We aimed to encourage our own audience to undertake a journey, a journey through our installation including the work of all groups. For this reason our group became know as 'Journey' and our piece 'Shadow Guardian'.
There was a number of elements to our piece. This encouraged each member of the team to take specific responsibility for an aspect and utilise their own unique skills and interest.
The Guardian
This character formed the key linking element to the 'journey' performance, leading our chosen 'hero's' through the space to encounter the other aspects of the trail. I designed the overall look for this character and created the headdress. I worked in collaboration with Patricia to construct the main cloak. Construction blog.
The Lantern
This piece was designed as a tool to lead the 'hero's' and provide a point of interest. The idea was a little piece of magic, a lantern containing the universe, something of power. The lantern was designed and constructed by Patricia, it contained a light, some sound and one of our early perspex Shadow Structures.
The Music
I created the atmospheric music using an electric cello through a delay pedal to build a magical, abstract sound. The music was designed to be low level, unobtrusive in the space but give presence, atmosphere and power to the guardian character. This was a private performance for a single hero, so the music is also designed to be quite private.
The Cards
The hero cards are given to select members of the audience and are a call to adventure. They set the task and instruct our hero's to find their guardian and undertake a journey. These were designed and created by Patricia, they included a range of hand written messages including: 'Find Your Guardian', 'Make a journey, leave your mark', 'Not everyone is a hero'. Below is an initial design and a finished card.
The Tree
The tree signifies the end of the journey and represents the world. It is a point where the hero must leave their mark on the world before moving on. This is part of the installation which can be viewed by all visitors to the exhibition. It was designed and constructed by Emily. The image represents both positive life and growth but also quite sinister with its sharp pointy edges and wrapped fabric bandages.
The Projection
The projections represented the journey, including the positive and negative aspects. The challenges to overcome, the successes and the magic seen. There were two aspects to these projections, a backdrop for the Guardian, a place where our hero is introduced. The second a tunnel created using multiple screens representing the initial challenge of the journey, before the hero moves on alone. These projections were designed and created by Jordan. Bespoke fabric screens were also created using wooden frames and dyed calico fabric. A mixture of video projection and OHP designs were used to create the effect. They included key imagery of the costume, lantern and tree to complement and tie together all the elements.
Installation
All aspects of the performance were installed in to the theatre, to work along side the other group areas. Our piece was originally designed to link the space and add to the promenade feeling of the work.
Please visit the collaborative project page, within the MA research section of my website for a full overview of this project.