Category: Reviews

On Sunday, November 20th we held the final Stories at the Park event for 2016; commitments being what they are in the run-up to Christmas, we’ll be skipping December and re-convening the story telling sessions designed to coincide with our art exhibitions at the park until January 2017.

Stories at the Park also offers a unique way in which the art on display at Holly Kai Park each month can be interpreted – through the words and eyes of others. For me, the stories and poems presented at each session never fail to open a whole new world of perception and narrative around a piece of art. And when there are two or three pieces written on the same piece, then the floodgates of thought and viewpoint are thrown wide.

November’s session made this latter point really apparent: several of the pieces had two or three stories written to accompany them, and each one offered a unique perspective on the piece and – if I’m honest – the thought processes of the writer! I was particularly fascinated at the ways in which The Rains of Kastamere, an image by Shakespeare (Skinnynilla) was interpreted by this month’s contributors.

Those offering stories this month with Caledonia Skytower, R. Crap Mariner, Aoife Lorenfield – a skilled weaver and reader of tales from Seanchai library, who was joining Stories for the first time as both writer and reader, and also Robijn, who submitted four beautiful pieces, all of which were read by Trolley Trollop.

I actually didn’t get to hear all the stories until after the fact – RL meant I had to spend a portion of the session away from the keyboard, but it did then give me the opportunity to walk through the current exhibition and listen to the recording of the readings whilst examining the pictures which inspired them, without any distractions of watching recording software, keeping an eye out from new arrivals, etc., which usually occupies my time at these events.

As this was the last of the 2016 Stories event, Cale and I – this being a joint idea between us – spent a little time mulling the sessions held to date, and I think we’re both pleased with how things have gone; submissions for each event has been strong (32 pieces for one session!), and the readings have been well received by our audiences – so much so, that I might have to expand the current cushion seating for future events.

Our artists, as well, seem to be pleased with the events and hearing how other interpret their words through story and verse. Offering your work to be included in something like this can be nerve-racking. It’s one thing to have your images interpreted privately by those viewing them; it’s quite another to entrust them into the hands of others whose words could go on to forever frame your work in the minds of those who see it whilst reading or hearing those words.

So, my very genuine thanks to all of our artists throughout 2016 who have willingly allowed their work to be included in each of our Stories at the Park events. My  equally sincere thanks as well, to all of the writers and readers who have participated this year. Without you, Stories in the Park couldn’t take place.

If you’d like to listen to the November stories, written to pieces from our guest artists Sheba Blitz, Maxie Daviau, Shakespeare (Skinnynilla), Sorcha Tyles and Terrygold, I invite you to hop over to the Holly Kai blog, where you’ll find all of the stories, images of the pictures which inspired them, and some audio extracts from the event. Or you can use the links below 😉

• Stories inspired by the art of Sheba Blitz
• Stories inspired by the art of Maxie Daviau
• Stories inspired by the art of Skinnynilla
• Stories inspired by the art of Sorcha Tyles
• Stories inspired by the art of Terrygold

If you’d like to try your hand at writing a 100-word short story (a “drabble”) or a poem of up to 100 words for one or more of the pieces of art featured at our next exhibition to include a Stories at the Park event (which will likely be opening around Saturday, January 14th) then please refer to our Stories at the Park guidelines. Remember, if you’re not comfortable reading your own work or using Voice, you don’t have to: one of our readers will happily read your submissions.

In the meantime, the current Art at the Park exhibition will be open through until Sunday, November 27th, so if you haven’t already done so, I hope you’ll pay a visit.

Additional Links

• Art at the Park, Holly Kai Park (Holly Kai Estates, rated: Moderate)
• Stories at the Park, October, 2016
• Stories at the Park Index
• Seanchai Library

Now open at Split Screen, curated by Dividni Shostakovich, is From Here On There Be Dragons by Alpha Auer. It stands as a celebration of these mythical, mystical beasts and much of what they represent  both culturally and in terms of our own psyche.

Within an abstract environment of ornate towers lit from within and semi-transparent floors, sit the dragons of the title. From Alpha’s notes, they stand as guardians of self; that this strange structure is perhaps – if I might borrow from the current British television incarnation of a certain sleuth) – a “mind palace”, in which is hid the wonders and terrors contained within our deeper selves; countries of the mind through which we might only travel with care, and having accepted the challenge presented by the dragon standing before each one.

More than just a guardian, however, the dragon can be seen as a symbol of the challenges we might face in travelling those countries of the mind. As the protector of treasure, it stands as the guardian of Self; as a creature of power, harnessing a primal element – fire – it is a reflection of our own force of personality; it can also stands as a symbol of the fears we might want to overcome and of our own self-courage in doing so; and it may also reflect our baser emotions: anger, selfishness, temper.

But there is more here that introspection. As notes, this is a celebration of all that dragons can represent. Hence why the floor of this “mind palace” is inlaid with a leaf from Abraham Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (“Theatre of the World”), considered to be the first true modern atlas. It is, as Alpha notes, a reminder that dragons once represented the unknown and the need to take care in the world at large: that there were limits to our knowledge and understanding of all that lay around us.

Then there are the dragons themselves, a mixture of common western and eastern archetypes, all vibrant and alive in this ethereal setting. Within their claws many hold an egg; a further symbol of the dragon’s role in many creation mythologies. Of course, in some religions the dragon symbolises the End of Times. In fact there is hardly a culture in the world, east or west, north or south, where the dragon doesn’t resonate in some way.

Hence why Alpha notes, “Dragons have always been with us, although we have come to deny their existence and their potency.” Hence why, perhaps, she also includes an extract from T.S. Eliot’s Little Gidding, allowing it to stand as an echo of the fact that dragons have always been with us, and always will be.

From Here On There Will Be Dragons will be open through until the end of January 2017, and you can also pick up one of alpha’s free avatars during a visit.

SLurl Details

• From Here On There Be Dragons (Amra, rated: Moderate)