Melanie Manchot. Twelve

About

The show opens at Aspex, Portsmouth, on the 23 January 2016 as part of a national tour. Over the last three years Manchot has worked in dialogue with twelve people in recent recovery from substance misuse, in rehabilitation communities in Liverpool, Oxford and London. Twelve is directly informed by their personal written and oral testimonies, creative conceptions and performances within the final works. Inspired by the visual acuity of renowned contemporary filmmakers, the work connects and collapses individual recollections in which everyday situations, events and activities are rendered dramatic or abstract, and infused with tragedy, pathos and humour.

Single sequences are shot as continuous takes, referencing iconic scenes from the films of Michael Haneke, Gus van Sant, Bela Tarr and Chantal Akerman – a ferry journey across the Mersey, a darkened room looking out on to an early morning street, a car wash, the cutting of daisies with small scissors, the obsessive cleaning of a floor – each provides the framework for reflections on remembered incidents and states of mind. Melanie Manchot is a London based visual artist who works with photography, film, video and installation as part of a performative and participatory practice.

Twelve was commissioned by Mark Prest of Portraits of Recovery and developed by Melanie Manchot working with Action on Addiction, the Ley Community and the Psychosocial Research Unit at the University of Central Lancashire. Twelve is financially supported by Small Arts Awards from the Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England through the National Lottery.Twelve is Melanie Manchot’s major new multi-channel video installation exploring the intimate stories, rituals, repetitions and ruptures of lives spent in addiction and recovery. The show opens at Aspex, Portsmouth, on the 23 January 2016 as part of a national tour. A Private View will be held on 22 January 2016.

Over the last three years Manchot has worked in dialogue with twelve people in recent recovery from substance misuse, in rehabilitation communities in Liverpool, Oxford and London. Twelve is directly informed by their personal written and oral testimonies, creative conceptions and performances within the final works. Inspired by the visual acuity of renowned contemporary filmmakers, the work connects and collapses individual recollections in which everyday situations, events and activities are rendered dramatic or abstract, and infused with tragedy, pathos and humour.

Single sequences are shot as continuous takes, referencing iconic scenes from the films of Michael Haneke, Gus van Sant, Bela Tarr and Chantal Akerman – a ferry journey across the Mersey, a darkened room looking out on to an early morning street, a car wash, the cutting of daisies with small scissors, the obsessive cleaning of a floor – each provides the framework for reflections on remembered incidents and states of mind. Melanie Manchot is a London based visual artist who works with photography, film, video and installation as part of a performative and participatory practice.

Twelve was commissioned by Mark Prest of Portraits of Recovery and developed by Melanie Manchot working with Action on Addiction, the Ley Community and the Psychosocial Research Unit at the University of Central Lancashire. Twelve is financially supported by Small Arts Awards from the Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England through the National Lottery.