Dealing with radicalism and sharp social commentary, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd or Spartacus Chetwynd, born as Alalia Chetwynd, creates performances that manage to process serious themes through the combination of epic ambition and hilarious free-form extravaganzas. Her picturesque and carnivalesque events involve the group of participants, mostly her friends and relatives, strange home-made costumes and accessories, reflecting the wide range of sources, from Hieronymus Bosch and Rabelais to Meatloaf and Conan the Barbarian. Merging the practice of performance, sculpture, painting, installation and video her work uses the elements of folk plays, street spectacles, literature and various other genres conjoined in the realm of her distinctive style, marked by improvisation and spontaneity.
Chetwynd was born in 1973 in London where she gained her education in anthropology at the University College London (UCL) and later in painting at UCL’s Slade School of Fine Arts and the Royal College of Art. Working with her performance group in one project in 2006, she has thought she needed a more robust name that was Alalia and decided to change it to Spartacus, after the slave who drew together people of different nationalities and cultures to rise against the Roman empire. Seven years later, she changed her mind again, choosing to name herself Marvin Gaye, because of being so taken by his life, using that story as the reminder to herself to protect the most important thing she has in her life – the family[1]. Making the reinterpretations if the iconic moments from cultural history, particularly the examples of extremist behavior and belief, her performances erase the wisdom and insanity, revealing the creativity of utopian vision instead. Trying to completely immerse into the world of her subjects, the artist herself describes her approach as “unbridled enthusiasm” considering the aim of respecting their passions and contributions with her own.
Never using finished products, Chetwynd makes costumes from materials she dyes using paint and salt and creates masks and other accessories from latex molds or cardboard, emphasizing the importance of one person’s efforts which always have real and meaningful consequences. “Enthusiasm makes sense to me,” Chetwynd reveals. “My work is more like comedy or carnival rather than something that is professionalised; it has a fun rebellious energy. Humour is often marginalised, it’s underestimated how hard you have to work to get or keep your ground. My performances are really gestural and are not meant to exist afterward. I wanted to burn the costumes after but really had to change my attitude. My heroes are the Marx Brothers, but I only know them from the video. They bothered to make their fun, gestural, off-hand experience package-able, not in a dark way but in a way that people can enjoy afterward forever. It’s important to make an effort to make things that last so they can continue to communicate to people.”[2]One of her prominent works, Hermitos Children (2008), twenty-minute experimental crime drama, took a form of a pilot episode on TV. Following the protagonist Joan Shipman, a transgender female detective who investigates sex crimes and bizarre murder of women who died from multiple orgasms on a dildo seesaw, the vague and abstract narrative use humor and amateurism as a counterweight to formalities of performance. Non-professional actors in hand-made costumes adopt the elements of parody, placing the film between reality, fiction and dreams. The second episode of Hermitos Children was shown in 2014, at the art gallery Studio Voltaire in London[3].
After her participation in New Contemporaries in 2004, she was nominated for the Beck’s Futures prize next year. Her puppet-play based on The Book of Genesis, Paradise Lost, and The German Ideology, named The Fall of Man was represented at the 2006 Tate Triennial, and on the next one, in 2009, Chetwynd contributed with her work Hermitos Children. This filmed performance was described as “Silly beyond words and teetered at times on the edge of porn – but once you start looking at it I defy you to tear yourself away.” Her works are a part of collections of Saatchi Gallery, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zürich, the Tate in London, and the British Council. In 2012, she was nominated for the Turner Prize.
The artist is represented by Massimo de Carlo in London and Milan.
References:
Featured image: Marvin Gaye Chetwynd – Artist’s portrait – Image via bt.no
All images courtesy of Cadies Coles
Year | Exhibition Title | Gallery/Museum | Solo/Group |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Camshafts in the Rain Marvin Gaye Chetwynd | Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn | Solo |
2016 | Liverpool Biennial 2016 | Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool | Group |
2016 | Ready For The Stage / Act 1 (1900-2016) | Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Remagen | Group |
2015 | A blur, a beautiful blurry blur | Galerie Karin Guenther, Hamburg, Germany | Group |
2015 | Lustwarande ’15 – Rapture & Pain | Fundament Foundation, Tilburg, The Netherlands | Group |
2015 | Glasgow Open House 2015 | Glasgow, Scotland | Group |
2015 | Toys Redux – On Play and Critique | Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland | Group |
2015 | Edinburgh Art Festival | Edinburgh | Group |
2014 | Marvin Gaye Chetwynd | Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK | Solo |
2014 | Hermitos Children 2 | Studio Voltaire, London | Solo |
2014 | Reclaimed – The Second Life of Sculpture | The Briggait, Glasgow International, Glasgow, Scotland | Group |
2014 | L’Almanach 14 | Le Consortium, Dijon, France | Group |
2014 | Hans im Glück | Kunstraum Niederösterreich, Vienna | Group |
2014 | Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century | Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury | Group |
2014 | Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century | Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, USA | Group |
2014 | Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century | Krakow Theatrical Reminiscences, Krakow, Poland | Group |
2014 | Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century | QUT Art Museum, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia | Group |
2014 | Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century | Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia | Group |
2014 | The List | Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney, Australia | Group |
2014 | Nic 2 razy - Nothing Twice | Centre for the Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor CRICOTEKA, Kraków, Poland | Group |
2014 | Bat Opera 2 | Massimo De Carlo, Milan, Italy | Solo |
2014 | Marvin Gaye Chetwynd | Sadie Coles HQ, London | Solo |
2014 | Group Show | Hestercombe House, Taunton, UK | Group |
2013 | Analogital | Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, USA | Group |
2013 | Les modes sont toujours charmantes | 1 rue Oscar II, Nice, France | Group |
2013 | Folk Devil | David Zwirner Gallery, New York | Group |
2013 | Ihre Geschichte(n) - Their Histories | Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany | Group |
2013 | Thrift Radiates Happiness | Municipal Bank, Birmingham UK | Group |
2013 | Puppet Show | Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK | Group |
2013 | Aquatopia | Tate St Ives, St Ives, UK | Group |
2013 | Performa 13 | Performa 13 Hub, New York | Group |
2013 | Marvin Gaye Chetwynd | The Monteverdi Gallery, Castiglioncello del Trinoro, Monteverdi, Tuscany, Italy | Solo |
2013 | Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century | H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City | Group |
2013 | Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century | Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Moscow | Group |
2013 | Aquatopia | Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK | Group |
2012 | The Walk to Dover | Victorian displays, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK | Group |
2012 | Revisitations: Saatchi Gallery Returns to Ipswich Art School | Ipswich Art School, Ipswich, UK | Group |
2012 | Topsyturvy | de Appel, Amsterdam | Group |
2012 | Marvin Gaye Chetwynd | Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin | Solo |
2012 | Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century | Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, USA | Group |
2012 | R4, Special FIAC Project | Ile Seguin, Paris | Group |
2012 | Turner Prize | Tate Britain, London | Group |
2011 | 3rd Thessaloniki Biennial | Thessaloniki, Greece | Group |
2011 | Saatchi Gallery in Adelaide: British Art Now | Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia | Group |
2011 | Bat Opera 33 | Gallery 61, Tate Britain, London | Group |
2011 | British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet | Hayward Gallery, London | Group |
2011 | Home Made Tasers | Studio 231, New Museum, New York | Solo |
2011 | Odd Man Out | Sadie Coles HQ, London | Solo |
2011 | Collection - migros museum für gegenwartskunst Zürich | Kunsthalle Krems, Austria | Group |
2011 | FACTS & SYSTEMS – A Science Fair | 120 East Road, London | Group |
2010 | The Library of Babel - In and Out of Place | Zabludowicz Collection, Project Space 176, London | Group |
2010 | Le Printemps de Septembre a Toulouse | Museum les Abattoirs, Toulouse, France | Group |
2010 | Jarman Award 2010 | Spacex, Exeter, UK | Group |
2010 | Collection | Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland | Group |
2010 | Grand National | Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway | Group |
2010 | Get Behind Me Satan and Push | Peres Projects, Berlin | Group |
2010 | The Grid System - A Regime | Malta Contemporary Art, Malta | Group |
2010 | The Perpetual Dialogue | Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York | Group |
2010 | Jarman Award 2010 | Arnolfini, Bristol, UK | Group |
2010 | Jarman Award 2010 | Whitechapel Gallery, London | Group |
2010 | British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet | Nottingham Castle, Nottingham, UK | Group |
2010 | Everlasting Gobstopper | Michael Benevento, Los Angeles, USA | Group |
2009 | Newspeak: British Art Now | The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia | Group |
2009 | Floors – Walls | Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin | Group |
2009 | Altermodern | Tate Triennial, Tate Britain, London | Group |
2008 | This is the Gallery and the Gallery is Many Things | Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK | Group |
2008 | Help, I’m trapped in a Muzuzah Factory | Le Consortium, Dijon, France | Solo |
2008 | Collection 1978 – 2008 | Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland | Group |
2008 | Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art | Barbican Art Gallery, London | Group |
2008 | Don’t Play with Dead Things | The National Contemporary Art Center of Villa Arson, Nice, France | Group |
2008 | The Skat Players | Vilma Gold, London | Group |
2008 | The Snail Race | Massimo de Carlo, Milan, Italy | Solo |
2008 | A show of many parts, each part more spectacular and elaborate than the last | The City Gallery, Leicester, UK | Group |
2008 | Summer Show | Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria | Group |
2007 | Stay Forever and Ever | South London Gallery, London | Group |
2007 | Spartacus Chetwynd | Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland | Solo |
2007 | A Comedy of Errors | Artspace, Sydney, Australia | Group |
2007 | The Call of the Wild | One Mile Program, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh | Solo |
2007 | Phantasie Fotostudio (with Esther Teichmann) | Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin | Solo |
2007 | The Perfect Man Show | White Columns, New York (NY) | Group |
2006 | Tate Triennial | Tate Britain, London | Group |
2006 | L’Apres-midi d’un Faun | Eleni Koroneou, Athens | Group |
2006 | Action | FRAC Provence-Alpes-Cotes D’Azur, France | Group |
2006 | Money – a Cautionary Tale | Positions (Herald St), Art Basel Miami, Miami, USA | Solo |
2005 | Inaugural | Herald St, London | Group |
2005 | Dance of the Seven Veils | Cooper Gallery, Dundee, UK | Group |
2005 | Bridge Freezes Before Road | Gladstone Gallery, New York | Group |
2005 | Herald St & The Modern Institute Present | Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York and Herald St, London | Group |
2005 | Other People’s Projects | White Columns, New York | Group |
2005 | Do Not Interrupt Your Activities | RCA CCA, London | Group |
2005 | London in Zurich, Hauser & Wirth, Zürich, Switzerland | Group | |
2005 | Beck’s Futures | ICA, London | Group |
2005 | Think + Wonder | Museum of Childhood, London | Group |
2004 | Painting | Kate MacGarry, London | Group |
2004 | Alterity Display | Lawrence O'Hana Gallery, London | Group |
2004 | Bat Opera | Millers Terrace, London | Solo |
2004 | New Contemporaries | Barbican Art Gallery, London, The Coach Shed, Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, UK | Group |
2004 | Year Zero | Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland, UK | Group |
2003 | Babak Ghazi curates the fridge | Magnifitat & Son, Edinburgh | Group |
2003 | Picture Room (collaboration with Goshka Macuga) | Gasworks, London | Group |
2003 | Group Shows Are a Waste of Time | Hoxton Distillery, London | Group |
2003 | Chockerfuckingbloked | Jeffrey Charles Gallery, London | Group |
2002 | Kontakte, norwegianlady record sleeves | Neon Gallery, London | Group |
2002 | Dusu Choi | Institute of Culture, Korea | Group |
2002 | Gatsby | Tamsin Morse, New Lansdowne Club, London | Group |
2002 | Much Depends on the Viewer | International Apartment, Vienna | Group |
2001 | 6000 Square Foot Project | Young-Art, London | Group |
2001 | Club | Beaconsfield Gallery, London | Group |
2001 | Atelier Something | Springfield House, London | Group |
2001 | 360 | Roundhouse, London | Group |
2001 | Fat Pete and the Bowling Green | Charlie Wright’s, London | Group |
2000 | The Open Drawing Exhibition | Cheltenham & Gloucester College, Cheltenham, UK | Group |
2000 | Touché (collaboration with Peter Harris) | Andrew Mummery Gallery, London | Group |
2000 | MA Creative Curating Exhibition | Thomas Tchushaus, Goldsmiths College, London | Group |
1999 | Articultural Fair | Southbank, London | Group |
1999 | Brainstorm | Goldsmiths College, London | Group |
1999 | Exit | Chisenhale Gallery, London | Group |
1998 | Honesty is The Best Policy | The A Gallery, London | Group |