To coincide with her Fungus Press poster commission, Turf will be screening Rhea Storr’s latest film, ‘A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message‘ (2018) made as part of The Louis Le Prince Experimental Film Prize offered by The Northern Film School, Leeds Beckett University . This will be followed by a discussion with the artist about the film, her recent Fungus Press posters, and her broader practice.

The research undertaken during the production of ‘A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message‘ was also the initial point of departure for Storr’s Fungus Press posters.

Image from the film "A Protest, A Fear, A Mixed Message"

Rhea Storr: ‘I use filmmaking as a way to speak about black identity, by examining the way that bodies perform. Of Caribbean and English heritage, my interests centre around the inherent tensions of being in between two cultures. I often use digital and 16mm processes within the same work, treating film and digital recordings as bodies. I aspire for my films to have agency and they are often positioned at points of tension. I explore those images which deny access, fail to articulate what they represent or don’t tell the whole story. Carnival fascinates me, as an art form which in itself is intended to subvert forms of power, through tricksters, through colour, through masquerade. Recent work has included examining a portrait made from a photograph, exploring costumes in Junkanoo, (a carnival of the Bahamas) and using expired Kodachrome film to talk about mixed race identity.

Working with the Northern Film School was a unique opportunity in that I was able to define how the film would be produced and by whom with as much/little help and resources as I required. It’s also good to work with students at the school who are eager to learn, through it you also realise your own strengths and weaknesses.’

Image from the film "A Protest, A Fear, A Mixed Message"

Rhea Storr

Rhea Storr is an artist and filmmaker based in London. Her practice spans moving image, drawing and writing. She received an MA in Contemporary Art Practice from the Royal College of Art (2017) and a BFA from The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford (2013).

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