Understory - an installation and performance about our unsung heroes.
Chateau d'Orquevaux, France, 2023.
A site-specific installation and performance Understory created a parallel between the kitchen of a grand estate with the understory of a forest: the upper stories of each grab our attention, but the understory of each is most often overlooked. In the basement of Château d'Orquevaux, the original kitchen remained in disuse for many years. This kitchen was, and as a kitchen is in any home, a source of nourishment and of pleasure-making - off the back of intensive planning, preparation, skill, and hard work. In June 2023, Australian installation and performance artists Penelope Bartlau and Jason Lehane discovered that the kitchen is about to be renovated and requested to use this for their site-specific work. They hope that Understory created a fitting, poetic and political swansong to this beautiful space.
Using a high style of comedic theatre, to devise the work Understory employed techniques of Commedia Dell’Arte and Le Coq. Using comedy to poke fun at us (the audience) and reveal social injustice, Understory is a political comment on historic class constructs and modern-day privilege.
CLICK HERE for a detailed description of the installation and performance work.
INSTALLATION ARTISTS & PERFORMERS: Penelope Bartlau & Jason Lehane
Photos: Jason Lehane and Penelope Bartlau. Video: Filmed by Ziggy Attias.
Understory installation and performance are the outcome works of Barking Spider Creative’s Château d'Orquevaux 2023 Arts Residency.
