Monster Chetwynd: Hell Mouth 3

About

Fragments of songs and half-remembered performances form constantly re-imagined futures and new social aspirations. Monster Chetwynd’s Hell Mouth 3 channels the decline of Western Civilisation and legacies of Heavy Metal through the mouth to hell of a 16th Century engraving of a human devouring monster. Chetwynd’s ‘monster’ will hold the future of Metal, Birmingham and humanity in it’s mouth as bands play for their lives within the maelstrom of history and the failure of current society to support and empower the once and future workers of the hell mouth of industrial Britain.

Chetwynd’s fascination with Penelope Spheeris’ three part film series ‘The Decline of Western Civilisation’ from 1981 to 1998, featuring many of the ‘most influential and innovative musicians and groups of all time’, has informed many of her works over the past decade and takes centre stage for this large scale sculptural and performative spectacle set in the industrial space and area of Eastside Projects and Digbeth at the heart of Birmingham.

Monster Chetwynd (previously known as Spartacus Chetwynd and Marvin Gaye Chetwynd) is a British artist, based in Glasgow, known for reworkings of iconic moments from cultural history in elaborate, compulsive and evocative performances. Chetwynd’s practice intertwines performance, sculpture, painting, installation and video. Her work incorporates elements of folk plays, street spectacles, popular culture, from Heavy Metal music and Star Wars to Berthold Brecht’s Three Penny Opera, and surrealist cinema. Her performances and videos often employ troupes of performers, including friends and relatives of the artist, and feature handmade costumes and props. In 2012, she was nominated for the Turner Prize.

Home of Metal will once again shine a light on the global phenomenon of Heavy Metal with a series of blockbuster exhibitions devoted to the music that was born in and around Birmingham. Music that turned up the volume, down-tuned the guitars, and introduced a whole new meaning to the word ‘heavy’. The season of events and exhibitions will join the dots between music, social history, visual art and fan cultures to produce a new perspective on metal. One that is celebratory, eschews notions of high/low culture, and joins audiences and performers together. From May to September 2019, Home of Metal will present a series of exhibitions in partnership with organisations in and around Birmingham to include Black Sabbath – 50 Years, at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Ben Venom will present the lead summer exhibition All This Mayhem at MAC (Midlands Art Centre), Monster Chetwynd: Hell Mouth 3 at Eastside Projects , Alan Kane: 4 Bed Detached Home of Metal at The New Art Gallery Walsall and Przemek Branas at Centrala, demonstrating Heavy Metal’s reach into all corners of culture through explorations of fantasy, chaos, performance and fandom. Home of Metal is conceived and produced by Capsule.