As an artist, or as anyone with an urge to finger the dark edges of our familiar world, it is so important to make an effort occasionally to look beyond one's own workbench, explore the practise of others, discover new materials, techniques and methodologies, to re frame and refresh the work.
In November I participated on a two day master class 'Puppets for the Streets' at Mandinga Arts, www.mandingaarts.co.uk in London organised by the Puppet Centre Trust.
Having bobbed and floated in the current of the Carnival parade for sometime, I have admired the work of Mandinga. In the back streets of Brighton, Luton, London and elsewhere, amid warm-ups, wet wipes, cable ties and make up, at line ups and de-rigs, I often escape the Festive Road family for a few minutes, intrigued by the mechanics, attracted by the costumes and the constructions of other companies; it is always the attention to detail and depth of content that draws me in to Mandinga.
As Simon and I approached the address of the Mandinga Arts studio, walking through suburbia on a fresh winter morning, I began to think we had misread the email. Even more on reaching the place itself; a regular semi, in a leafy quiet back street. The carnivalised milk float in the drive way was the only thing to give it all away!
We entered via an alley at the side of the house into the garden and immediately knew that we had arrived; large, brightly coloured creatures adorned the lawn ...and beyond, we reached Charles in his studio, full of inventions, prototypes and beautifully beastly creations...
British and Colombian artists Charles Beauchamp and Julieta Rubio trained as painter–printmakers and have had regular solo exhibitions in London. The Fine Art world which they have organanically grown from, echoes my own path into carnival. And their on-going exploration into creative design, their cross-cultural collaboration with other artists, musicians and choreographers, is proof that carnival can be and is an evolving art form. The collaborative 'open door' policy which Mandinga employ, serves to continually feed and develop their artistic vision, extending the boundaries of carnival art for all of us.
Mandinga Arts was set up in 2002 by Beauchamp and Rubio in response to a clear need for artists to work together on performance opportunities – to practice, improve, educate, share and promote carnival arts. The company exists to bring together live music, carnival costume design and dance, drawing on diverse influences from Europe, Latin America and Africa, with community based contributions to the carnival movement in the UK.We were there to scavenge ideas, to soak up the experience and to cross pollinate with other like minded makers. And to make use of our own time, we had set ourselves a project to work on. Within the first few minutes we realised our mistake was to expect to get anything actually made in the two days. As with many of these kind of meetings of minds, it's not what is actually achieved in the time which matters, it's more about what happens afterwards...
Although the surroundings of Charles's studios seemed very familiar to me; the same old materials, the same tools, the same themes and challenges which carnival presents...the approach and the disapline was delivered by a five star master, a serious craftsman who approached the art form of carnival like a it was his life's work -which it is.
So what did I get out of my two days? I have some new ideas on how to approach some old themes and I have aquired some new knowledge on how to use some familiar materials. I have been reminded that I must take all of my work seriously, that nothing should ever be 'just bread and butter' and that quality is more important than quantity.
And finally, I think that I made a promise to report back to fellow participants once I had an image which I could send of the great Scylla, the six headed street puppet which I'm creating, well it may be a bit of a wait!
