My Off Site Exhibition.

As part of my course I did an off site exhibition in a laundrette in London.

I have been exploring the role of the clown in a real life setting in the real world instead of the theatre so in the laundrette. The show was called The Last Supper I was exploring renewal, loss of childhood but at the same time keeping the care free child alive within on self. My exhibition was spontaneous and site specific. In the show I  used discarded toys which I found in a second hand shops and flee markets and I gave  them a second life, a new life, a new meaning.

©Copyright Mirta Imperatori 2013

Dressed as a clown I washed my toys using ordinary facilities in a different way to alter time. On top of the washing machine put a soft toy for people to hug and two toys that people could play with and rediscover the child within and to make them do something they usually wouldn’t do in a laundrette or indeed find in a laundrette.

In my work I have been exploring language and how we use associate objects and used them in a certain way which is based on our background and how we have been taught, our cultural background. I made a video of the Laundrette  you can find if on http://vimeo.com/64391122

With this work I am questioning people's preconceptions and turning things upside down in a playful way showing what is seen as normal and ordinary isn't the only reality.

©Copyright Mirta Imperatori 2013

The clown can reveal things under the surface that are being ignored can make connections happen that are not happening also about the healing of  a place through humour and making fun of yourself and everything around you. The clown negotiates the world by playing with it. Playfulness is a guiding principle for the clown and bringing alive the inner child.

Clowning is an invitation not to ignore the bad stuff, but to look at it through lightness and playing. The child we once where that society doesn’t allow us to take into adulthood.

Three clowns that my clown is based on this is in response to the laundrette in a specific area of London where a lot of travellers come in and out. I looked at the Hobo: Migratory that finds works where he travels. Down on his luck but he maintains a positive attitude. The Tramp: Migratory and does not work where travels. Down on his luck and depressed about his situation. The Bum: non migratory and non-working. I specifically looked at the work of Emmett Kelly a famous American clown and his weary Willie: a depressed tramp clown that didn't have the whole face painted based on the hobos of the depression era.

I have also been interested in exploring the role of female clowns as clowns  have been  mostly male as if a woman is dressed like a clown people sometimes see her as a mad woman instead of a clown and why that is? I would like the audience to question this. I have been interested in the work of Cindy Sherman as she continuously explored the construction of contemporary identity and how women get stereotyped in advertising, film & media in general and the nature of representation to create her photographs she assumes multiple roles but of functional types such as the housewife, B movie actresses she creates a variety of characters form socialite to clown which can be affecting and disturbing as you can see below, the photo was shot in Rome. She started the clown series in 2003.

A photograph by Cindy Sherman for M.A.C

Cindy Sherman Clown Series 2003

I also looked at the work of French artist Bernard Pras as he recreates portraits of icons using found objects which are arranged in a specific way to merge together and the portrait appears he creates realistic portraits of his subjects but pushes the viewer to observe the massive collection of found materials, dolls, trash (that one would find in a landfill) that forms each piece.

                                                                               

Albert Einstein by Bernard Pras

The Scream by Bernard Pras based on the Scream by Edvard Munchs

made with found materials

Another artist that changes the function of the object is Dutch artist Florenijin Hofman whose work is site specific and uses toys in his work to connect people to their childhood. The large scale of the toy changes their function and feeling and you can't avoid them as I discovered first hand when I saw his Bear sculpture in a run down area of Amsterdam called Staalmanplein in the Netherlands because they are so big. His sculptures originate from everyday objects, they are all ready made they are like cartoons blow ups that are easily identifiable and have an instant appeal. It seems to me that the audience it's an essential part of his work, he embeds the images in their surroundings but the work is fun and he uses any types of materials. In Hofman on words: 'My sculptures  cause an uproar, astonishment and put a smile on your face. They give people a break from their daily routines'.          

                                                                                 

Steelman (2011)

                                                      The Big Yellow Rabbit Sweden 2011

                                                       made with Swedish Shingles.

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