Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Portrait of a nation and a Merry Christmas




Well, its December and the sound of Christmas bells jingling in the distance… imminent are the gifts, decorations and the general merriment of the season.
Accidental Collective have been busy with the culmination of Portrait of a Nation. We’ve been in Liverpool with white suits and suitcases, bringing 17 cities from around the country to one big celebratory event.
Packed up in 17 suitcases we took; London, Leeds, Belfast, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Inverness, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Canterbury, Derby, Norwich, Oxford, Newcastle, Cardiff, Nottingham, all up to St Georges Hall, Liverpool.
What an event!!! We had to find a way to bring the essence of all of these places (some of which we’ve visited, some we haven’t)… no mean feat!
We started with geography, history, slang words, local folk’s thoughts about the place they’re from, our own associations, facts, figures and all sorts… in designing interactive suitcases to be scattered around the, frankly huge and inspiring, building. They were lost around the building so visitors could come across them, play with them, leave or take something. (As was the case with Birmingham, there was a tin of sweets - which went very quickly indeed.)


Donning our white costumes (for the very last time) we became lost travellers… travelling around the building in a group, pairs and on our own… lost? Bemused? Crazed? Or ephemeral figures strolling, talking, playing with the public as they investigate and tour the myriad of events, installations and performances mounted by the above named cities… you can only imagine the mind boggling dizziness of singing, dancing, laughing and wondering…
People wrote messages on luggage labels which we attached to ourselves, our suitcases and even other people - what they love or hate about the place they live… messages to other people from other cities… celebrating where we’re from and where we’re going…
Look at the pics… and you’ll get the idea a little!!!!!
Merry Jingle time From Accidental Collective

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