Catalogue
Southport Weekender Archive
I have been dancing, - and drawing The Dance - live at Southport Weekender since I first visited at it’s original location at Pontins, Southport in year 2000, through the Minehead Butlins years, to it’s current location at Butlins, Bognor Regis (via it’s satelite festival Suncebeat in Croatia). That’s 23 years of drawing/painting live on location in real time. What began as a bunch of ‘live art’ experimental drawings has been transformed by the project’s longevity into a robust visual archive evoking the spirit of the musical-dancikal event whilst also marking and celebrating it’s persistence and development.
Kerri Chandler At Minehad
Kerri Chandler delaying at Southport Weekender, Minehead. in The Suncebeat Dome.
Pastel on Murillo Paper. 2013 or 2014.
I went to x 3 Southport Weekenders at the Minehead site (2012, 2013, 2014). The first one I remember for the outstanding performance of Gregory Porter, but did no artwork The second one I attended I made a lot of tiny sketchbook drawings and one larger drawing inside the Suncebeat Dome which was never finished because the company that supplied the Dome bought my drawing when it was still at an early stage. My third visit, in 2014, was my most productive visit.The finished portraits of Kerri Chandler and Giles Peterson were presented at this weekend, which is how I got to meet Kerri, had the honour of being invited to draw ‘live’ on stage during his Dejay set in the Dome, and also during the performance of his Live Music ensemble in the much bigger Powerhouse space.
What I remember about the above drawing is that I kept having to break off and dance because the music in Kerri’s set was so good. I do remember that his set included a mix of Azzymuth’s 'Jazz Carnival', as well as a favourite House music track of mine called The Mast. The setting of the 'Suncebeat Dome' was very 'Star-trekky', but the neon, coloured lighting of the venue also contributed to this ‘sic-fi’ atmosphere Kerri’s hands were constantly in movement as he manipulated the controls of his Musical ‘Mothership’.
