Megan Broadmeadow
My work originates in carnival, masquerade, music and dance and I have an on-going interest in the times and places in which people enter different states of consciousness. I work to explore the spaces which we all inhabit inside the complex pathways of the psyche and minds which we posses. These spaces are intangible yet recognisable, and it is this fluctuating space between experience, fantasy and familiarity, which is the motivating factor of my work.
Drawing from my background in immersive theatre, I am increasingly interested in creating immersive experiences for the gallery. I aim to disorientate and use lighting, projection mapping and traditional illusions to manipulate the space and the objects within it. I aim to allow audiences the chance to enter and explore opulent fantastical spaces and indulge in the bright and the decorative by using party shop goods, patterned fabrics, and mirrors to create sculpture, costumes and sets.
Clay Paky
Last Week I visited the Clay Paky factory where they create and develop 'intelligent lighting' for concerts and events all over the world.
Originally their founder Pasqual Quadri, made lights for discos and nightclubs, after he felt frustrated by the standard of lighting at his local dancehall. The company now makes lighting for the biggest events of the year, like the olympic ceremonies, and Madonna's world tour.
I like the early lights, the ones where his mother stuck the mirror tiles on in their kitchen, and the ones he made in the backroom at work, where by day he worked in a pharmacy, and by night he was a cinema projectionist....
intelligent light-Megan Broadmeadow from Ffotogallery on Vimeo.
This shows part of the Clay Paky factory that I visited as part of my research into the story of their founder Pasquale Quadri.
The research will infirm a new series of artworks which will tell the story of intelligent lights - in a fantastical way.
Mae ffideo yn dangos rhan o'r ffatri Clay Paky yr ymwelais â hwy fel rhan o fy ymchwil i hanes eu sylfaenydd Pasquale Quadri .
Bydd yr ymchwil yn eiddil cyfres newydd o weithiau celf a fydd yn adrodd hanes y goleuadau deallus - mewn ffordd rhyfeddol .
Costume Museum Trip
I had a lovely time here in possibly one of the finest reading rooms I've ever sat in!
I spent time reading through a collection of publications and books about masks and carnival costumes, and also talked quite a bit with the librarian who was very informative.
I'm now going to book myself into their tour of the archive which I think could be quite special, I hope they let me visit!
About Megan Broadmeadow
Why did you apply for Wales in Venice?
Almost two years ago I caught the last day of the masquerade in Venice. The masks and costumes that I saw on that day have haunted me since. Two weeks ago I saw a disco light that blew my mind.
I’d like to go to Venice to merge two forms of research together, in order to start to piece together the draft ideas for a series of work, which will incorporate masks, costumes and lights; to tell a fictional version of the story of Pasquale Quadri and the “Astrodisco”.
Pasquale Quadri, who sadly died earlier this year, was the Italian inventor of an infamous disco light called the “Astrodisco” that produces a web of beams and movement. His company, Clay Paky, is based in the Bergamo region of North Italy, and is close enough to get to on a day trip from Venice. I’d like to visit the factory and film his disco lights during the manufacture process, and interview some of his staff to learn more about Quadri himself.
At first glance, embroidery, masking and disco lights may seem like an odd mix, but in my work they make a lot of sense, as I continually embark on ideas which seek to bring disco and dance together with history and carnival. So in many ways the opulence of costumes and history of masquerade found in Venice combined with the story of the world’s greatest disco light, for me, is the perfect match.