Sunday 11 February 2024

Lost Empress

 


Lost Empress, 82 x 82 cm, oil on board




Thursday 28 September 2023

Saint Dymphna's Medicine

 



composed, performed, produced & mixed by © ℗ Gaynor Perry









An act of kindness
What is you
What is me

Lost empress
Decipher her language
Slipping in and out of consciousness

Medicine
Saint Dymphna's Medicine

Illegible handwriting
Eerily crossing out
The art of persuasion
Bending and flexing 
And pushing and pulling

Medicine
Saint Dymphna's Medicine

An admission of guilt
Was it you
Was it me
Swallowed whole
By voluminous nights

Medicine
Saint Dymphna's Medicine

They keep trying to trick me
They keep trying to scare me
So
I'm cavorting with wild bears
Embracing the chaos

Medicine
Saint Dymphna's Medicine
Saint Dymphna's Medicine









7th century Irish princess Dymphna was fifteen years old when her own father, the Pagan King Damon, drew his sword and beheaded her because she refused to marry him after her mother’s death. So the legend goes. She had escaped the King’s horrendous advances by fleeing to Geel with her confessor priest, two trusted servants and the King’s fool. You can read more about Dymphna elsewhere, she's the patron saint of mental disorders. 

While I was incubating this piece, the component parts assembled themselves like one of those push up puppets - and there was Dymphna. I wanted to create a sanctuary. Somewhere soothing, benevolent and hopeful. 

There is of course much more to say, but you can always watch and listen.






Cover photo (GP)
Millpond, St Helen's Church, Welton, East Yorkshire 






Thanks for visiting!

Friday 26 May 2023

Eagles, Primates





written, performed, produced & mixed by Gaynor Perry











Friday 10 February 2023

The Old Ruins of Helen de Helen



The Old Ruins of Helen de Helen
h61 x w61 x d1cm, oil on board




The Old Ruins of Helen de Helen (detail)




Monday 24 October 2022

Untangle

 


written, performed, produced & mixed by Gaynor Perry



I held you close, I let you go
Catching spiders in a glass 
They mapped the contours of my face
During the night
While sleep washed my raven heart
Lily white

I held you dear
I let you disappear like dandelion seeds
On a single breath
It’s for the best
We were enmeshed

My life is small 
It’s like a prayer
I’ll walk barefoot down to the sea
We toil, toil, toil, toil, toil

And then we will be free
So please untangle me

I held you close, I let you go
Watching spiders in a glass
I hope you found somewhere sublime 
To spin your webs
And your heart is overflowing 
With happiness

I held you dear
I let you disappear like diamond dust
Do you know where you are
In relation to the sun and the moon
And the earth

My life is small 
It’s like a prayer
I’ll walk barefoot down to the sea
We toil, toil, toil, toil, toil

And then we will be free
When you untangle me







Current Releases




Tuesday 26 July 2022

Artificial Intelligence

 

Film, photography & concept by Gaynor Perry

with
Grethe Mangala Jensen
&
Deborah Griffin

Music
written & performed by Gaynor Perry
produced & performed by Noko 440



Grethe enters a state of hypnagogic consciousness 

as she drowses on the branch of a fallen laurel tree.


Deborah Griffin





Grethe Mangala Jensen


























In these hours
(soh)
batteries and hazel eyes

Without careful aim
we're blown
without careful aim
we’re here now
(toad)

Albion drawn in the ground
with a gemstone
a coiled shell

You are young
unbelieving

To live or grow
like Turing
an opponent
(soh)

We're here
so grow

You are young










Gaynor Perry




















Norman Fisher-Jones aka Noko 440
















The day after we finished filming I walked back to the location and discovered this animal spine (above) strewn across my path. On closer inspection it may be a badger spine. There were no other bones nearby. Naturally, I reflected on how it got there. Did a dog or a fox dig it up and drag it there? What a mysterious offering.

The imagery for this body of work began with a photograph of Grethe resting on the branch of a fallen laurel tree. And now I can see a vine climbing one of the limbs, on the right-hand side, looking quite spine-like.

While this strange and timely motif seems integral to the piece, I don't have an explanation. Other than the spirit in which we approached creating this.  A profound sense of the sacred spaces of our landscape and nature within, perhaps resonated somehow in the labyrinthian old heart of the land.

Who knows.






Digby - farewell to this ethereal boy who departed for his next great adventure a month after taking this photo.









Thanks for visiting!

Thursday 7 July 2022

Her Ensemble ft. Bishi

I had the great pleasure of photographing Her Ensemble recently. Formed by violinist Ellie Consta, they are the UK's first women and non-binary string orchestra creating stunning performances. This one featuring wonderful Bishi with lighting design by Belinda Best.



Lucía Polo Moreno

L-R Raye Harvey, Emma Oldfield, Sarah Daramy-Williams

 L-R Coco Inman, Christine Anderson, Fran McGuinness Gilbert, Lucía Polo Moreno

L-R Coco Inman, Christine Anderson, Fran McGuinness Gilbert, Lucía Polo Moreno

L-R Kate Suthers, Coco Inman

Anne Denholm 

Anne Denholm 

Anne Denholm 



Meera Priyanka Raja

L-R Ellie Consta, Sarah Daramy-Williams

Raye Harvey

Lucía Polo Moreno



Fran McGuinness Gilbert

L-R Christine Anderson, Fran McGuinness Gilbert, Lucía Polo Moreno, 
Meera Priyanka Raja, Maddie Cutter

Christine Anderson

Kate Suthers

L-R Emma Oldfield, Raye Harvey

L-R Emma Oldfield, Raye Harvey

Ellie Consta, Sarah Daramy-Williams



Bishi













Nevertheless She Persisted
Village Underground
54 Holywell Lane
London
EC2A 3PQ

Saturday 2 July, 2022