CHRIS CRICKMAY

2009, Promenade 3: Morning, Afternoon and Evening.

Herbert Gallery, Coventry. A sequence of three 4-hour pieces, performed over a span of 3 days.

This piece was set within the recently opened and architecturally striking extension of the museum –

a tall, lengthy foyer space with an arching glazed roof, and views out into the city’s Cathedral Square. As with any foyer, it had a steady trickle of people passing through – a new challenge for our work, and something that we were bound to incorporate into the piece itself. In shaping the work we drew upon a certain convention of Indian music, where Ragas are often conceived for specific times of day or night. Our own three performances, titled ‘Morning’, ‘Afternoon’ and ‘Evening’ were created specifically for those times of day. The evening performance bridged between daylight and darkness with a corresponding shift in mood, as the performance continued and spotlights and projected images began to take over. Most of the objects and images used were based on the museum collection or the building itself. As each performance developed, we travelled the length of the space leaving behind our arrangements of objects and materials – a trace of what had occurred earlier.