Pining for Pearls

About

Darling Pearls & Co presents Pining for Pearls, a solo exhibition by the Brazilian artist Marcia Beatriz Granero at Darling’s Attic. The installation results from the artist’s residency period at the space during December 2018. Marcia Beatriz, we know, partners with the autobiographical character Jaque Jolene. They share the same body, collaborating in actions for the camera which constantly make use of language that pertains to the realm of cinema. Their performances are imagined in relationship to the architectures that receive them. And it is relevant to say that architectures, in the plural form here, refers both to the spaces and to the socio-economic contexts that accompany them. Self-reflections about class and gender are also inherent to the artist’s practice in collaboration with her celeb character.

Darling’s Attic is a home that works an artist residency space and also offers unique experiences to the general public and to private guests. Titled Pining for Pearls, the exhibition presents three Pearls [Pérolas] (1). These are video art pieces accompanied by photographs which, together with some other situations, document the encounter of the character with paparazzi that harass her. Marcia Beatriz nurtured herself on the historical context of tabloids during the research period and development of this project (2).

News about the Royal Family is published in Brazil daily. Marcia Beatriz has been following this since September, and is especially interested in Lady Diana’s story as presented by culturally divergent media outlets. Jaque Jolene has lived "Lady" moments at Darling’s Attic, where she was seen being photographed wearing a variety of looks. For her breakfast, an oyster which brought many surprises was served, as well as Royal Biscuits and wildflower herbal infusion tea. As Jaque Jolene travelled to London with a mission, the celebrity walked through the Hackney Marshes football pitches in order to arrive at the area where the Middlesex Filter Beds Weir was built in the 1970s. Today, the industrial area of the past is a huge ecological reserve. Marcia Beatriz asked Jaque Jolene to bury the fur coat that belonged to her maternal grandmother there. Jaque Jolene has also been to the city centre in order to attend meetings booked by Darling: at London City Hall, The Shard and other business buildings within the City of London district. Her path was recorded by her private photographer and curator Alessandra Falbo.

Jaque Jolene didn’t attend the "Meet & Greet" event booked for the exhibition’s PV. She reportedly fled to her tropical country of origin leaving Marcia Beatriz and the curator dressed in kimono dressing gowns and slippers specially made for the occasion. The audience lamented the occurrence whilst performing selfies in the classic red carpet and backdrop with logos Jaque Jolene and Darling Pearls & Co. The exhibition continues until March 15, 2019.

(1) The term ‘Video Pearls’ was chosen by the artist as a deviation from the term “vídeo-pílula” [“video-pill”].
(2) Tabloid in this case refers to both the initial context in which the word was historically used by an English pharmaceutical company when it began to market capsule-shaped medicines and to the acquired meaning of the word in the context of journalism in the first decade of the 1900s. "The Sun" is a current example of tabloid newspaper. It is owned by the press baron Rupert Murdoch. "The Daily Mirror" and "News of the World" are two other British tabloid examples. These three tabloids were the best sellers at the time of Princess Diana's death. Their editors recently declared to feel a portion of guilt regarding the incident as reported by "The Telegraph" (2007).