In ‘When Grief Came to Stay’, six artists, working in different forms, considered the idea of grief as a character. We were interested in how we relate to grief, in what that relationship might look like, and how varied and changeable it can be, even within just one person's experience or lifetime.
During the early research for our live project, The Guy in the Luggage Rack, we interviewed a number of individuals on their experience of bereavement and grief. We spoke to people at different points in their grief journeys. For some the loss was still recent and raw, for others more time had passed, and some had experienced multiple losses. Each person’s story was different, and yet there were some themes that echoed through several.
In the first UK lockdown in 2020, not knowing when we would be able to continue work on the show, we decided to share our ideas with a small group of other artists we knew who were already interested in grief and related themes, in order to come up with some mini projects that we would be able to share digitally.
We drew out some of the recurring themes from the interviews that particularly interested us and gave these to each of the artists to respond to in their own unique ways, drawing also on their own understanding, experiences and existing work. The artists filmed their work, most in their own homes, with some help from members of their households and bubbles.
The 6 resulting video shorts were released between the 7th and 13th of March 2021, along with a series of live online events with each of the artists involved.
What people have said about the project:
“This is a very important project. During the pandemic many people have experienced grief... and thanks to this project, people can see that they're not alone in this. This is the power of the arts… and She Said Jump just showed us how essential art can be.” Viewer/participant
“I found the videos incredibly moving. Each had just enough sweetness through their humour and beauty to make the darkness digestible - so for me they cut through my pandemic fog and really delivered an emotional impact and the sense of being seen in my own experience of grief.” Viewer
“Grief has recently become a relentless companion of mine. These six creative portrayals of grief’s numerous personas have really helped me to shed light on the complexities and nuances of how I begin to live with it and welcome it into my life. When grief comes to stay, they don’t ever leave you and I’m beginning to make peace with that. Thank you from the bottom of my broken (but not broke) heart for making this important work.” Viewer
This project has been supported through Crowdfunder.co.uk and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
