Existere lives on...

This weekend saw the third, and final, day of Existere performances.  The decision by http://www.jocjonjosch.com/ not to film or photograph the installation is I think the correct one, watching it on film would not be able to convey the power of the piece, either from the performer's experience or the audience's.  It was such a powerful creation, but you needed to "feel" it, not just see it.  For the couple of hundred of people taking part (and I include the audience as taking part) it will live on in our memories for a long time to come.

I've met some lovely new friends - hello Peter! http://spencertunickandme.blogspot.com/ and even had someone "come out" to me... perhaps being naked leads to everyone being honest with each other, and themselves.

This afternoon I went to Tate Modern and had a look at the Taryn Simon exhibition. Whilst interesting, I'm not sure Bankside is the ideal venue, it felt as if her work deserved a smaller more intimate showcase, I was going to have 30 mins in the Miro, but the Sunday crowds had arrived so I'll leave my second visit for the Friday evening quiet(er) time.

All in all a productive and enjoyable weekend, but tinged with sadness by the appalling tragedy in Norway. I cannot begin to imagine the pain that the family and friends of all those teenagers are going through, but I hope they are able to find and draw comfort from each other, one thing Existere left me with is the sense that by coming together, and protecting each other, we can withstand whatever is thrown at us.

They are not dead,
Who leave us this great heritage
Of remembered joy.

They still live in our hearts,
In the happiness we knew,
In the dreams we shared.

They still breathe,
In the lingering fragrance windblown,
From their favourite flowers.

They still smile in the moonlight's silver
And laugh in the sunlight's sparkling gold.

They still speak in the echoes of words
We've heard them say again and again.

They still move,
In the rhythm of waving grasses,
In the dance of the tossing branches.

They are not dead;
Their memory is warm in our hearts,
Comfort in our sorrow.

They are not apart from us,
But a part of us
For love is eternal,
And those we love shall be with us
Throughout all eternity.

Anon.

Sheltering from the elements

Can't believe it’s been 8 months since Liverpool Biennial, but lots been happening in my life, went on a lovely 2 week cruise around the Mediterranean with Martin, which included first visits to Rome (fantastic, shame about the hassle from people trying to sell you crap); Ajaccio on Corsica (very beautiful) and Gibraltar (bit of a dive, can't think why Spain wants it..).  Came back to find my contract at Dept for Business wasn't being renewed after 9 years (thanks Vince) but I was overdue for a move, had just got lazy there, so took a month off which included a week on the Isle of Man with my sister for TT Race Week which was amazing, so much so that I've already booked for next year and will be signing up to do some marshalling too.  Came back and started a new contract at Dept for Education.  My flatmate has decided to retire and will be selling up and moving to Somerset, so come next spring I'll be homeless (well in London anyway), I'm looking to buy a house in Liverpool as I feel after 21 years down here my time in exile is drawing to a close and it’s time to head home for good. I've been spending more and more time up there over the last year or so, so feel the time is right to move.

Anyway back to the subject in the title.  Back in May I was surfing around t'interweb looking for art projects to get involved in and saw a call for participation for JocJonJosch - it’s the first time I'd heard of them, but after a bit of research, their work looked interesting, and as luck would have it they were having an open meeting about their House (later Existere) project the following evening. So off I went to Battersea and my first visit to Testbed1, an old industrial site full of character, surrounding by the trappings of (borrowed?) wealth in new apartments.

Meeting the team of Joc, Jon and Joschi (ah, that’s were the name came from) I got a good feel for what they were trying to achieve and immediately wanted to be part of the project (and yes OK, I fancied Joc too...) (I can't help having a thing for posh boys) (unrequited I'm afraid and I've since met his wife Tessa who is equally lovely) (Ed: can we get back to the plot please..)

Anyway a few weeks later and it was time for the first rehearsal which seemed odd at first as we worked in small groups but when it came to bringing everyone together it all seemed to fit into place with ease - JocJonJoshch and the choreographer had obviously put a lot of thought and work in beforehand, because it’s always difficult to make something look easy.  We had another rehearsal, this time in the performance venue last week and (ok I'm really condensing a lot of hard work into a paragraph here) after a few tweaks we had an almost finished product to show to the public.

The basic premise is to form a human shelter which we hold together against the elements, thus protecting those within. Testbed1 is a very effective venue, being an old derelict and dark space, but with one corner lit from above by a skylight under which we would build our structure.  So on Saturday I arrived in the rain and met some of the people I'd met at rehearsal, and some new faces and we split into teams (or columns), which in turn would combine to form the structure.  We did 5 performances to different sizes of audience, with the middle performance the most memorable.  As we entered the space the rain was falling on the skylight, but as the structure came together, it seemed like the monsoon season had arrived, the sound of the torrential rain and the darkness which descended over the room, meant that all you wanted to do was hold everyone closer together, you became so aware that 60 people, all naked, were at their most vulnerable and the group needed to protect each other, it only lasted for a few minutes, but the emotion of that moment, and the elation when we got back to changing rooms of having performed at just the right moment was a profoundly moving experience.

We performed again on Sunday, a few of the faces were different and we had another mixture of sunshine and rain during the 5 performances.  The only problem with being the structure is you can't see the structure as the audience sees it.  Existere is only being performed over 3 dates, so just 1 left, next Saturday (23rd July), it’s not being filmed or photographed so the only way to experience it is to get yourself along to Testbed1 to, not just see it, but be part of it.  It’s free, just go to www.jocjonjosch.com and print yourself a ticket.  This is a once (literally now) in a lifetime experience which you shouldn't miss.

As with all the projects I've been involved in, I've met some amazing people, from all walks of life. And hopefully will be working with some of them again after Existere becomes just a memory (but what a memory!) for all those involved.

Liverpool, Expo 2010, and a disinterested Tory minister

I thought I’d use my blog this time to highlight an exchange with the government minister Damian Green.  Whilst I’m glad to receive a reply to my letter, I’m not altogether surprised that he completely disregarded the points that I made and instead chose to make another generalising statement with no factual basis behind it.  So much for the Tories listening powers.

Damian Green was on BBC Question Time on 3^rd February, and in my letter to him I took issue with a comment he made about overseas trips made by Liverpool City councillors.

My letter on 4^th February read:

During the BBC Question Time programme last night, 3^rd February 2011, whilst answering a question regarding the decision by Liverpool City Council to withdraw from its participation in the “Big Society”, you made a somewhat throw-away comment that Liverpool councillors had made visits to China, which could have led members of the audience to conclude that those councillors had been wasting tax-payers money on such trips.

You should be aware that Liverpool was the only UK city to have a dedicated pavilion at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.  This was a major coup for the city which came about because of Liverpool’s long standing relationship with China generally, and the city of Shanghai in particular, and the city’s heightened profile during its tenure as the 2008 European Capital of Culture.

Liverpool’s presence at Expo 2010 was led by Liverpool Vision in partnership with the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool Shanghai Partnership.  The NWDA committed £1.25m to support Liverpool’s presence, whilst Liverpool City Council committed £300,000.

The event was regarded in Liverpool as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to consolidate existing and forge new relationships in the world’s emerging markets and to showcase Liverpool’s track record of urban regeneration under the Expo theme of Better City, Better Life.

During the 6 months of Expo 2010 over 770,000 visits were made to the Liverpool Pavilion and the city council estimates that over £50M of inward investment will come to the city as a direct result of those visits.

The pavilion’s main sponsor was Peel Holdings, which has interests in ports, airports, renewable energy, media and property development across the North West.   It is hoped that further Chinese investment will be made in the region and particularly in Peel Holding’s Wirral Waters and Liverpool Waters developments, and representatives from Shanghai have already made reciprocal visits to Liverpool to develop that process.   During a visit to the Liverpool Pavilion Mike Taylor, Deputy CEO of Liverpool Vision remarked; “Undoubtedly the Peel Group offer some of the most significant, impressive and attractive investment opportunities being promoted at World Expo in Shanghai. The scale and potential of what will be the UK’s largest regeneration scheme is of huge interest to potential investors at home and overseas and with Peel and Liverpool City Council united behind a shared vision and ambition for the City we are on the right track in promoting economic growth and the creation of jobs on a massive scale”.

On 18^th February Damian Green wrote back to me:

Thank you for your letter about Liverpool.

I am as convinced as ever that Liverpool City Council’s decision to pull out of the Big Society project was indeed politically motivated, and that the main victims of this will be the people of Liverpool.

When government ministers themselves are busy making trips to China, India, Brazil and other emerging and enlarging markets, I’m saddened that the efforts from the leaders of one of our largest cities to bring much needed foreign investment should be denigrated in this way.

Indeed Green’s fellow minister Mark Prisk, Minister of State at the Department for Business said "I hope the success of the British contribution to the Shanghai Expo will become a symbol which embodies the determination that the UK and China have to become partners devoted to economic growth."

This success was recognised recently when Liverpool Vision won the China Recognition Award, The accolade was to celebrate the successful delivery of the Liverpool Pavilion.

Runner up was The Peel Group.  Chairman of The Peel Group, John Whittaker, also attended David Cameron’s Trade Mission to Beijing in November 2010 as part of a large delegation of prominent UK businesses, and last month Mr Whittaker met China’s Executive Vice Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to the UK.

The Recognition award, sponsored by UK Trade and Investment and the Northwest Development Agency, is given in recognition of named individuals or organisations that have made a significant contribution to developing links with Greater China during 2010.

Philomena Chen, Head of Asia Pacific Development for UK Trade & Investment, said: “There was an outstanding level of entries for the North West region this year, and our winners of the China Recognition Awards are the individuals who have shown the greatest commitment to forging links with mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan.

“Liverpool’s involvement in the Shanghai World Expo, and the success of the Pavilion were key to demonstrating Liverpool’s commitment to Shanghai and China, positioning the city well with key decision makers and Chinese businesses.

"It put the city and the North West on the map as a future investment destination and Liverpool Vision is a worthy winner of the China Recognition Award.

"In addition, The Peel Group’s role as lead sponsors was instrumental in encouraging engagement with China with a view to securing inward investment into the North West region."

Clive Drinkwater, International Trade Director for UK Trade & Investment North West, said: "This year’s North West England Greater China Recognition Awards recognise Liverpool Vision and The Peel Group as two organisations which have done the most to strengthen the links between our countries and businesses in the region.

"We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to these extremely worthy winners, who have worked closely with UK Trade and Investment and been of invaluable help in allowing us to offer assistance to North West companies hoping to do business in this exciting market."