Melrose Se Lave and the Song Cloak 2023
A by-product of the printing process of the Pianola Collection, this garment is made of pigmented pianola roll fragments assembled onto a fabric base. This was a way to recuperate and repurpose the vintage rolls which already had the strong aura of a significant object. The cloak is worn by the artist in the persona of Melrose se Lave who conducts certain paintings in the collection as scores along with his little ensemble – The Post-Minimalist choir.
Melrose’s geneology springs on the paternal side from Duchamp and the irreverent Dadaists, and on the maternal side from my great-aunt Lily Melrose who sang in Music Halls around the turn of the last century wearing marvellous costumes made by my grand-mother to project glamour and drama far into the auditorium.
Exhibition opening performance: Composition in Seven Movements for Post-Minimalist Choir, Household Objects and Unruly audience – Montsalvat Residents Gallery Sept 16 2023.
The Book Dress 2020
This garment was made from a battered old Japanese school book found at an antique market. With pages assembled like fish scales on a muslin base, the garment had a strong sonic component from the the frou-frou of the paper responding to the movement of the wearer.
The Desert Song Choir 2022
A special hybrid choir drawn from the two choirs I direct – Shaking the Tree and Expressive Women – travelled to perform at the Desert Song Festival in Alice Springs. In preparation for this the singers collaborated with me to create a handprinted costume unique to each performer.
Bronwyn Calcutt 