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'18th century Glam'
I was commissioned to make this work after submitting a proposal that relates to one of The Vyne's owner's during the 18th century.
My inspiration was the collection of Lattimo ware that Chute collected whilst on The Grand Tour, which was when he met Horace Walpole who subsequently became a close friend to Chute. The iconic Venetian scenes depicted on the collection evoke images of the city’s celebrated masked carnivals that Chute, Walpole and their friends would have experienced whilst in Italy. Many young men adopted extravagant and unconventional dress and behaviour on their return from such travels, which was seen as unnatural by society and so they were nicknamed ‘Macaronis’. I have conflated the challenge to 18th century notions of masculinity by the ‘Macaronis’ with the gender flirting and fantasy role-playing of the 1970’s Glam rock era, both of which were derided and perceived as outlandish and effeminate.
Chute, Walpole and their friends share an aesthetic sensibility and enjoy dressing up. As they re-enact themes of secrecy, love, pursuit, jealousy and betrayal in the guises of Harlequin, Columbine, Eagle and Cupid, they experiment freely with different personas and genders.
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An Exquisite Diversion (2013)
DVD Video projection, duration 7mins. 4 secs.
Commissioned for Unravelling The Vyne in 2013
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The role-playing keeps their true identities concealed, and enables the group to ignore society’s restrictions and expectations concerning gender, sexuality and class. During Venetian carnival time, costumes and masks similarly maintained a person’s anonymity and any perceived transgressions remained unchallenged.
The hybrid costumes allude to the feminine, but allow for the possibility of the existence of alternative genders and sexual identities. The characters’ repetitive, affected gestures within stylized tableaux and the film’s soundtrack reflect the type of over-arching camp that is found in both theatrical melodrama, and in the avant-garde performances of the early glam era.
Visitors to the house and exhibition encounter various discarded items of clothing, which represent traces of the frivolity as the self-styled ‘Committee of Taste’ abandon their usual decorum and their responsibilities.
The Vyne provides a rich, seductive backdrop where self-conscious challenges to the constructed nature of gender can be made. In the retro-futurist spirit of a glam sensibility, the task transposes from the ‘twirling fingers’ of the ‘Macaronis’ to their posturing guitar playing, Glam successors.
Evaluation
This was my most ambitious and most challenging project to date.
Conceptually I feel that the costumes and characterisations were very successful and embodied the androgeny and gender play of Glam that I originally originally had conceived of.
Equally the ocncept worked very well within the enviroment , with the characters being both alien to the environment but strangely resonant and appropriate to the setting . Their stylised gesturing and camp demeanour I feel, achieved the melodrama the theatricality of carvival and the glam era.
At the private view, the video projection onto the linen fold panelling was a curatorial success;. as the 'ghosts' of Chute and his friends appeared to come from the walls of the Strawberry parlour (Walpole's study) they activated the room and evoked the real and imagined history of the Vyne and my conflation of the 18th and 20th centuries.
Feedback has been very positive form the curators and the Vyne staff and the film created a lot of positive interest at a recent pop up show in the MA project space.
Sharon McElroy