by Jane Calow
Premiered at Factory Studios, Bristol
Thursday 13th October 2022
A requiem for irrecoverable bodies lost at sea; Mantle is an interdisciplinary artwork by visual artist Jane Calow.
This first live performance took place at Factory Studios, Bristol on 13th October in Room 10 (the Live Room). It features projected film with newly composed, original live cello music; recorded ambient sound work with electric guitar; a printed ‘silent libretto’ held by each audience member and an artist’s book (published by Underwing Press and available to buy at the event).
The making of this multi-media piece required a truly interdisciplinary approach. Jane used her photographs, film, critical writing and artist’s book in dialogue with collaborators from a range of disciplines; they include Composer, Clive Radford; Cellist, Juliet McCarthy; Curator, Daniel Hinchcliffe; Geographer, Nic Howes and Audio-Visual Engineer, Adam Pinfold.
Jane says the origins of her requiem go back a long way, ‘Growing up, I would hear family stories of my grandfather; a Finnish anarchist who fled Finland in the early 20th century, became a fisherman and was then lost at sea.’
The piece was triggered by a visit to Coverack, Cornwall where the Mantle breaks through the earth’s surface. This geological phenomenon becoming a metaphor for past events that can no longer be hidden or contained. While one generation of a family may feel unable to speak of a traumatic experience, those events often re-emerge psychically for later generations.
