After a strong opening, the 2024 edition of Chapter Arts Centre’s performance art festival Experimentica continued with all things natural. There has been an extensive programme on show for these four days; seeing as much as I could, I reached fatigue after some time, though with much more still to see, I trudged through. Here are two more standout events from the weekend…
DOOMSCROLL: BDSM GARDENER’S QUESTION TIME
The Saturday night show for Experimentica should be big, loud and riotous, and luckily we were blessed with a good time from that of Doomscroll and their BDSM Gardener’s Question Time. Running till midnight and contained within Chapter’s studio space, this club night had the wonderful medley of trap beats, performance art, ecological protests and puns galore. Very queer-friendly, a hilarious passage of three hours never felt like a chore.
We saw leather (and the famous gay hanky tied on a pair of boots), a bag of soil being dirtied in the ways you can imagine, carrots used as mock phalluses and more scene changes then a Cher show. The environmental message also shone through without seeming clunky, and Doomscroll’s supporting cast of ladies taking the spotlight for more eye-bulging sights. I even got a chance to try out the wonderful live camera used for the show, protected in a massive monitor below the greenhouse onstage (my shoulder ached for days after, such was its weight). An absurdly good time.
HOLLY SLINGSBY: HOLDING SHARDS / AN ENCLOSED GARDEN
A second and final screening saw the video work of Holly Slingsby. These are highly appealing, ambient short films, Holly’s performances being made specifically for film alone. Holding Shards showcases an evocative dress fashioned from jangling plastic pieces, worn by Holly as she drinks in the atmosphere of a derelict church. We see smashed stained-glass windows, a toppled baptismal font, a busted-up old organ and the wild fruits that grow outside. An Enclosed Garden finds Holly more saintly, her clothes channelling this – halos, robes and all.
In both cases, the results do a smashing job of capturing both the artist on film and the locations on film. Holly is glossed in sunshine throughout, perfectly filmed at the right time of day: there’s no music, just the field recordings of the settings. Together, both films were skilfully captured meditations on silence, in a very relaxed style.
Though Experimentica would be wrapping up, I got the chance to see more and make new discoveries. Read more soon…
Experimentica, Chapter Arts Centre, Sat 13 + Sun 14 Apr
words JAMES ELLIS photos KIRSTEN MCTERNAN
