"Living scarecrows" bring four seasons to life

Thursday 05 July 2018

A local artist and composer have collaborated to create a movement piece inspired by each of the four seasons, which will be performed at CCA Galleries later on today.

Islanders will be able to watch ‘Germinale’, a four-part dance piece devised, choreographed and costumed by artist Kerry-Jane Warner and scored by Jersey composer Christina Orchard, for free this evening.

It will be performed by four dancers, each representing a different season, and the choreography reflects the cycle of farming behaviours and weather conditions which take place throughout a year.

The piece was originally commissioned as part of ‘The morning boat’, an international artist residency hosted on the island by ArtHouse Jersey which brought renowned art collectives Futurefarmers and Cooking Sections as well as London-based artist Alicija Rogalska to Jersey to explore local agricultural practices.

Pictured: Sheri Burt as the season of Spring performing in Kerry-Jane's 'Germinale' at Hamptonne.

Kerry-Jane said that ‘Germinale’, which was performed earlier this year at Hamptonne, continues the ethos of this residency with regards to the relationship between art and the land, a theme that runs through much of her other work. She said: “I think the relationship with art and the environment is very important wherever you live because it brings art out of galleries and into the public domain, whether people like it or not, it provokes conversation, more people take ownership of it.”

Although Kerry-Jane trained as a printmaker, she told Express that her work is becoming increasingly three-dimensional. She said: “Although I trained as a printmaker, I have always used other media and over the years have had a long relationship with theatre, cloth and sewing. Also I just really enjoy tackling new challenges in different areas; for example, last year I had the amazing experience of sculpting in virtual reality for the FLUX project.”

Pictured: The original 'living scarecrows' at Hamptonne, (left to right) Sheri Burt, Tom Rolls, Scilla Beck and Wayne Stewart. 

Kerry-Jane said that ‘Germinale’ brings together a range of influences from the 1793 French Republican calendar which celebrated the ritual of rural life as well as the work of contemporary choreographers. 

Kerry-Jane also enlisted the help of local composer, Christina Orchard, who composed four pieces to score 'Germinale', each inspired by the four seasons.

Pictured: Kerry-Jane Warner devised, designed and choreographed 'Germinale' in collaboration with other local creatives. 

Christina is currently studying for a degree in Music Production and Sound Engineering at Point Blank Music School in London and described her involvement with the project as “eye-opening”. She told Express: “Collaborating with Kerry-Jane Warner on Germinale has been a positive and eye-opening experience for me. As a young composer, I don’t often have the chance to collaborate with artists of other disciplines, so when Kerry-Jane approached me to be a part of this project I couldn’t have been more excited. 

“Kerry-Jane has a wonderful imagination and it has been great to see the piece develop as a multi-disciplinary project encompassing music, costume and dance. It has been particularly moving to see the compositions take on a whole new dimension through physical movement.” 

Pictured: Young composer, Christina Orchard collaborated with artist Kerry-Jane Warner to score a four movement calendrical dance piece.

When asked about the opportunities available to young creatives on-island, in comparison to somewhere like London where she is currently living and working, Christina said: “The wonderful thing about being a young artist in Jersey is that there’s a great sense of camaraderie amongst the creative community that might be a little more saturated in a city such as London.

“ArtHouse Jersey does a great job of supporting local artists and facilitating collaborative opportunities. Jersey seems to be moving in an exciting direction in terms of the creative community and I feel very lucky to be a part of it.”

Free tickets are available to see ‘Germinale’ at CCA Galleries this evening at 6pm.