MARSHALL GOES ‘FACE-TO-FACE’ WITH KATE, AT IMITATE MODERN!

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to be cradled in the arms of a rainbow?

If so, then you’ll find the answer ensconced within the arc-of-screenprints, in “40 A Kate Moss Retrospective”, by ultra-talented artist, Russell Marshall, currently showing at the enchanting ‘Imitate Modern’ art gallery!

On one level, your eyes race to absorb the high-definition, technicolour dreamscapes which coat the walls. Time flits by as fast as you can blink, whilst you remain transfixed by the neon shocks of sherbet-pink and acid-yellow, bouncing like laser-beams from a New Year’s Eve disco-ball! Quick-as-a-wink, you are compelled to follow the spectral-story wherever it leads and begin to register shades which resound like a chromatic scale… Prints in-the-key of shimmering-silver and incandescent-pearl are laden with outlines of indellible impressions…

Fully-acquainted with the cornucopia of exceptional colour-charts, you then begin to focus-pull onto the subsequent layer of visual stimulae, present in the undoubted recognition of, not only a face, but ‘The Face’ of Kate Moss, staring back, as if to guide you from one incarnation to another.

It is at this point, that your heart-rate evens out…

 The ‘pop’ which Russell has told me he would like the palette to have, has been achieved and so begins a new narrative, of taking a visual tour around Kate’s career, through the viewfinder of the former journalist and editor. The immediacy of being subjectively engaged at such a rapid rate, yields to a futher immersion, into a state of ‘objectivity’, yet it is neither stereotypically cold nor separate. It is, in fact, replete with a distinct clarity, founded in true warmth and admiration for a woman of real character, who has eclipsed the notion of ‘celebrity’ and, rather, re–defined and re–valued it. This facilitates a deeper connection to the potent colour-combinations, which serve to highlight the myriad facets to her own, vibrant personality. Furthermore, Russell’s editing sensibility is masterfully employed, in exhibiting specific screenprints which, at once, reveal the wide-eyed potential of a young girl, spotted at the age of 14, whilst also uncovering her scintillating, Bardot-èsque vulnerability, her ethereal elegance, swathed in full-length gowns and floral-sprays and an haute couture-regality, resplendent in Vivienne Westwood!

An added spin to the retrospective, it that of the journalistic element, for as the walls have Kate’s eyes, they also have her words! Quotes such as “Never complain, never explain” quietly indicate a certain pragmatism, whilst others celebrating the ‘girl-about-town’, like “I haven’t partied since last Friday”, positively scream from the rafters! Displayed alongside columns of biographical copy, by Amy Watts, the twist of presenting silk-screens, which constitute a statement as to the real definition of celebrity, in a 3-D newspaper format, is both witty and entirely evocative of the wondrous days of the old-fashioned handprinting-press! Encompassed by musical soundwaves dripping with Britpop, the White Stripes and Primal Scream, the audio-visual, launch-night mind-meld, completes the journey!

In essence, “4o A Kate Moss Retrospective” is a startling adventure with the ability to engage the viewer, by transporting them through the career life-cycle of a living legend. From the girl-next-door, whose diminutive stature should have ruled her out of the modelling industry, but which actually set her apart, to the celebrated Mother, Supermodel and Designer, Russell Marshall is a maestro of multi-dimensional expression. The single plane of a screen is doused in prismatic vibrance, which facilitates an optical appreciation of beautiful images…Yet, in accompanying them with written and quoted content, Kate’s joie-de-vivre becomes even more apparent. What with each of the ten works being a limited edition of one (the variations of which can be chosen from ten unique colourways), the concept of honouring individuality, is perpetuated. According to the artist, himself, there might even be a gentle ‘tap’ of the frame during its production, just to add a perfect imperfection, which is undetectable to the naked eye, of course, yet, intrinsically embedded within each wonderful work!

It is this eloquence of embracing the idiosyncratic and the courage to express it, which, almost a week after the private viewing, still echoes within. Whether or not you find yourself in the spotlight, the truth of who you really are, will always enable you to shine. Such an enduring and empowering message was shared by Russell Marshall on Kate Moss’s 40th birthday and I wholeheartedly encourage you to do the ‘grand tour’ for yourself, because the writing’s on the wall… this incredible show is an undeniable hit!

“40 A KATE MOSS RETROSPECTIVE” RUNS FROM: 17TH JANUARY > 15TH FEBRUARY 2014 AT: IMITATE MODERN, 27A DEVONSHIRE STREET, LONDON, W1G 6PN ~ MON>FRI: 10a.m > 6p.m ~ FREE!

www.imitatemodern.com ~ www.beautifulcrime.com

©AFROW2014-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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FACEBOOK FEEDBACK FROM RUSSELL MARSHALL!

‘Great review by Afrow… thanks..’

AFROW SAYS: ‘WE ARE TRULY A-MUSE-D!’

A revolution was televised.

Doing what it does best, the BBC delivered an epic of drama, comedy, fear, doubt, exhileration, madness, anger, joy, success, truth. A small-screen offering, so vast in ambition, that, at any other point in the multi-media new-age, it might have remained engulfed within the ether of ideas. However, it seemed that the country was ready to be gripped by the hands of a vivid voyage of emotional discovery and overcome by a tidal-wave of reality and revelation, in the guise of two actors, Dan Poole and Giles Terera, and embark on the ultimate Shakespearian road-trip!

Entitled ‘Muse Of Fire’, the premise revolved around a long-running issue with regard to the assimilation, or not, of, quite possibly, our most exceptional playwright, The Bard of Avon… Investigating exactly why, for some, his entire body of work is so unapproachable… Why, for others, the language is so, utterly fear–inducing, as to inspire pyjama-drenching night-sweats! It was a bold attack upon this trepidation and through raw and honest show-and-tell, on the part of the two actor-protagonists, themselves, and a wealth of  notable thespians of all vintages, we were enticed to, part-ransack, part-coax, memories of relationships with Shakespeare, to our own frontal lobes.

It quite got me to thinking back to my first remembrance of language, let alone, plays…and my earliest recollections start from hearing poetry recited around the house, both to me and during such activities as washing the dishes! Hearing ‘The Boy Stood On The Burning Deck’ or ‘Elegy Written In a Country Churchyard’ delivered with the passion of artists who have graced any world-renowned stage, whilst attempting to scour a pot, served to turn such a quotidien task (often to the detriment of the item being cleaned!), into a surreal foray around the realms of one’s imagination…

Thus, when time came to become better acquainted with William Shakespeare, I was already accustomed to cadences, wordplay and verbal soundscapes…even though I did not formally know of the terminology. I devoured the energy of phrases, which danced along my tongue, at times gliding as a ballroom-dancer in the hallowed halls of Blackpool’s ‘Tower Ballroom’, at others, popping like an old-skool, free-styler, at ‘Ministry of Sound’! I revelled at falling-in-love through Juliet and agonised through the stoic melancholy of Cleopatra, as she regaled Mark Anthony post his demise. How the memory of he who was no more, should have been more vital than those who were still alive, further to the peerless gift of its articulation, led me to an acutely profound plateau of emotive reasoning, which, in turn, facilitated my understanding, before I could process fear. I now realise that, for me, the visceral route of the subtext of ‘feelings’, fleshed-out my cognitive response to the motivation in the text, itself… Of course, back then I was simply caught up in the relentlessly sublime drama of it all!

Thankfully, I was encouraged to run headlong into Shakespeare. Not understanding was never frowned upon, but instead, utilised as a splendid spark for deciphering a message… Hitching oneself to the emotional-wagon, focusing upon the landmarks, absorbing every ounce of scenic suggestion, as to the narrative, and putting the clues together to make a picture, was the ultimate in ‘Sherlocking’! Never were my thoughts decried, and if they were wildly off-track, then that was fine as, with guidance, the dots were joined. Sounds perfect. Well, it was…in that my understanding of perfection is not that everything is correct all of the time, but that there is a sense of completion which can be had, in connection.

Sometimes, I’d connect with Shakespeare on a guttral level and, to experience that, was all there was to be had. The assimilation was complete, no less engaging and, therefore, perfect. At other stages upon my journey, I have experienced a ‘stillness’. No feeling, per sé, but no doubting that I had received content that would emerge, in the fullness of time. That was perfect, too! I have, since, continued to learn that accepting a new definition of perfection was the key to my true enjoyment of the rigours of, not just Shakespeare, but any style of writing or artistic endeavour, and the ‘approach’ has been a dear companion, to this day!

This week, ‘Henry V’ arrives at ‘The Noël Coward Theatre’. I have a distinct feeling that, since ‘Muse of Fire’ so powerfully broke through the glass ceiling of fearlessly embarking upon a Shakesperian exploration, there will be an even quieter ‘hush’ as the curtains go up and a lion’s-roar of applause, at its conclusion. I also believe that, in no small measure, it will be at the crux of an upswell of all-age, theatrical re-engagement and interraction. To me, it was the fulfilment of one, particular viewpoint of The Bard and the beginning of an exponentially, expanding vista, by cleverly incorporating and perpetuating the fact that showing-and-telling-the-emotional-working is wonderful!

So whether you think you get it, feel you get it, aren’t sure whether you get it, at all…rest assured that it’s not about judging the response, rather, connecting, in the way which is, not only bespoke to you, and/or speaks to you..but which truly sets the muse of your heart on fire…

©AFROW2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

http://www.museoffirefilm.co.uk/ ~ http://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/Tickets/HV/HV.asp

http://www.theblackpooltower.com/ ~ http://www.ministryofsound.com/

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TWITTER-TESTIMONIAL FROM GILES TERERA!

‘Amazing piece, by the way!’