As part of his Drama Masters degree, the artist wanted to explore practices and theories of performance and live art; taking him on a journey of exploration and experimentation. PODMORE 12:39 was both an emotional journey for him and also a test to his art and creativity.  This page takes you on a descriptive tour of the first steps into creating a live art performance project. 

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The process first started with the exploration of walking as performance. Research was carried out on current artists and academics such as Phil Smith, Deirdre Heddon and Kris Darby. This lead to investigating the work of Carl Lavery, specifically his performance Mourning Walk (2006), which creatively and emotionally explored the death of his Dad. From this, the artist realised he too was still mourning the death of his Grandad two years ago. This inspired the first creative steps towards exploring past memories: of family, friends and experiences of  childhood.

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To start the mind working towards the work, a mini project was planned as a test/appetiser to get ideas flowing. Still researching walking as performance, the artist unearthed a theatre company called Lone Twin, who specialised in storytelling, walking and promenade theatre. Their performance To The Dogs (2004) provided inspiration for the artist to take long walks to areas of his childhood to discover and reminisce on memories of his past (See map image). He then reported these memories in a public space, telling them as stories of his past.

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Following this mini project, the focus was turned to a location where most of his memories of childhood lay at rest; Podmore nature reserve in Halmerend, Stoke-on-Trent. This was where the Grandad and artist spent their time together, walking through the woods learning about life and nature. Now that he has passed away, memories of him are still to be found in this sacred location. If you look through the gallery on this website, you can find images and videos of Podmore and the exploration of memories there.

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The performances that took place during the project week had all been inspired from the artists creative playful experimentation in Podmore forest, and his discovery of artefacts and memories of the lost Grandad. Each live art piece was simple in its presentation but contained vast amounts of research, connection and emotion to the artist, Podmore and his Grandad.

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