Tanisa Gunesekera: Carpe Diem/Seize the Day
The British Museum: Community Evening View: Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum
"Seize the Day", by Sarah Ezekiel, inspired by the Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition. © Sarah Ezekiel.
A Special Evening
On Saturday 20th July 2013, members of the community were invited to an exclusive Evening View of the British Museum's current special exhibition, Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The Exhibition
Pompeii and Herculaneum were struck by a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. The cities were buried under ash for 1,600 years. The exhibition recreates the layout of a Roman home to present everyday objects preserved by the ash, giving us a glimpse into daily life before the eruption.
Seize the Day
Five individuals were invited to create a series of performances in response to the exhibition to share at the Community Evening View. The participants chose to focus on the theme Carpe Diem (Seize the Day).
The performances, inspired by the exhibition and the participants' respective experiences with stroke, aphasia and motor neurone disease, remind us that we never know what’s around the corner and inspire us to grab hold of life, to seize the day.
The Performers
Eddie
“Sit down, turn over a card, and I’ll tell you a story…” Edwin Martin’s stories, each triggered by a phrase on the back of a card, ranged from throwing a toy lamb into the fire in a school nativity play to working “a hard day’s night” (cue Beatles song excerpt) at Charing Cross Hospital, from having a stroke whilst walking down the road, to watching his step-dad work the docks. Each story, told with Eddie’s characteristic humour and charm, captivated everyone gathered around his corner of the atrium.
You can hear a snippet of Eddie’s storytelling here.
Jasvinder
Jasvinder Khosa sensitively explored the frustration of conversation being limited by aphasia, and the solace of poetry as a means of communication with oneself and others. Jasvinder’s performance in the garden room used movement to take us on a compelling journey of identity and expression, with a soundtrack which merged overlapping words, conversation and poetry excerpts, instrumental music and a beautiful reading by Jasvinder of Derek Walcott’s “Love After Love”.
You can find articles by Jasvinder at www.ukconnect.org and can read his reflections on aphasia and its impact on identity in the book, Aphasia Inside Out: Reflections on Communication Disability, edited by Susie Parr, Judith Duchan and Carole Pound.
Rachael
Rachael Dougherty’s magical performance fused: self-penned poem, “A Walk in the Woods”, full of tantalisingly squelching onomatopoeia and poignant loss; graceful and commanding movement; and song – an exploration of identity through a ditty taken from her personal answering machine message, and a haunting rendition of The Beatles’ “Blackbird”. A primary teacher by trade, Rachael’s magnetic gift for engaging people lit up the garden room.
You can listen to Rachael reading her poem, "To Walk the Woods" here.
Sarah and Martin
Sarah Ezekiel and Martin Vishnick brought to life the scene of a bustling Roman street, providing the unique chance to watch an artist at work on Roman flowers, accompanied by the atmospheric melodies of an acoustic guitar. As we marvelled at the skill and artistry behind the intricate objects and paintings on display in the exhibition, and wondered what music accompanied the inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, it was incredible to get a live insight into the creative process of an artist and a musician in collaboration.
Sarah is an eye-gaze artist with a fantastic website and blog. You can see Sarah’s art at eyegazeartists.com, read her story at sarahezekiel.com and follow her on twitter: @sarahezekiel.
Martin is an innovative guitarist, composer, teacher and researcher. Visit www.mvish.co.uk to find out more.
All photographs by Benedict Johnson. © Trustees of the British Museum
Project Partners
Performers worked with a creative team including choreographers from contemporary dance centre, The Place, over a period of seven weeks. The project was run in partnership with health innovation charity, Rosetta Life, with support from City Bridge Trust, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Rehearsal photographs by T. Gunesekera and H. Bahra.
© Trustees of the British Museum
Tanisa Gunesekera is a trainee on the second round of Cultural Co-operation's SOCL scheme, part of HLF's Skills for the Future programme. Tanisa is based at the British Museum, working primarily in the Community Partnerships Team.
