Merry Andra, Larmes de Clown:KNAG
experiments in emotion
the experiment is simply, what happens?
Merry Andra, Larmes de Clown: KNAG is a 7-piece performance (clown) film-installation as part of Sarah's ongoing project experiments in emotion. The KNAG films (KNAG: Scots, gnawing grief, heartache, pain) are a study in sorrow. The challenges we face (personal, domestic, national, global) stir strong passions. These films were borne from an intense time-limited 2-month period in 2022; Merry Andra, the first film made, was shown along with other experimental works created during that time-frame as part of experiments in emotion in Sarah’s 2022 Open House. For Sarah the prevailing emotions were (and continue to be) GRIEF, SORROW, RAGE. Sarah created and performed in all seven films.
"The Clown is puer aeternus, the eternal child in all of us, the innocent who sees things as they really are and not as convention decrees, who can be counted on to tell us, in the loudest possible voice, that the Emperor is not wearing clothes. It is the part of us that has never grown up, that lives in the heart and in the moment, with no past to regret and no future to dread, the part that only wants to play, completely free of responsibility - and yet is willing and able to save the world if necessary."
Jan Henderson
In recent years the clown has been hijacked - it’s not a scary murderous character or a simple slapstick circus act. Jacques Lecoq, master of physical theatre and clown said, “The Clown has great importance as part of the search for what is laughable and ridiculous in human. We should put the emphasis on the rediscovery of our own individual clown, the one that has grown-up within us and which society does not allow us to express.” The Clown, who arrived all by itself, is the perfect personage to unmask the ruinage of our age. In each KNAG film there is a new clown; each clown is given an intention and the simple task of eating an onion. Each film is one take, its length dictated by the time it takes to eat the onion. There were no rehearsals. The purely physical act of eating an onion brought tears, and certainly stress – sometimes real grief or sorrow followed. The Clown’s intention often got forgotten because of the difficulty of the task. In these films Sarah wanted to observe whether the purely physical can prompt the emotional. Does the clown become sorrowful while eating an onion? Does the viewer feel sorrow, either her own or the clown’s, while watching the clown fulfil the task of eating the onion, which is after all only a hot vegetable? Contrarily, does one feel anything at all?
In 2022, Sarah chose to use The Open House as an open studio. The initial works in experiments in emotion were all realised, made, written, filmed, played, scored and performed in the 2 months just before the exhibition - except in the case of the Super 8 film PHENOMENON 99 (see PHENOMENON and the pret-a-porter sculpture Chapeau de Jalousie - 'pret-a-porter sculpture' pages are under construction) which was re-visited. Each was either a sketch or a work in progress, the intuitive brushstrokes of works in flux, motion, enquiry. The challenge was to show Sarah's working process within the strict boundary of a limited time-frame, no matter where she was currently in terms of practice or research; also, to initiate immersion and freedom of play without judgement, question, fear or even aim; liberation after a period of stasis, both self-imposed and (pandemically) imposed; engagement with the world after a period of isolation and change; restoration of former skills and inquiry into new ones. The experiment has manifested several long-term projects.
"The clown has great importance as part of the search for what is laughable and ridiculous in (hu)man. We should put the emphasis on the rediscovery of our own individual clown, the one that has grown-up."
Jacques Lecoq
The clown lives in the place of laughing and crying at the same time.
NB The clown will finish the task, no matter.
Sarah chose to allow the clown to come and go, so that it was not wholly performative or theatrical, so she could at times be visible beneath the smallest mask in the world, the red nose. Each film has a different intention associated with each different clown. In the final 2 film sequences, Sarah is without onion and without nose.
Sarah conceived, created, wrote, directed and performed in all seven films.
With thanks
Charlie Doherty on camera
James Keane for musical score and sound
Shuen and Jordan at JAMvfx for post production
When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools. The Fool, KING LEAR
the clowns
all played and created by SARAH CAMERON (copyright) are:
Merry Andra
Grimlich
Hildre Glum
Grieve Sybae
TosKa Bloo
sans nez sans espoir
sans nez sans oignon (the onion as teacher)
portraits of CLOWNS:
Sarah Cameron
Arion Cameron Andreopoulos
Olive Cameron Andreopoulos
PHENOMENON FILMS 2022
PHENOMENON 1999
created, written, directed, performed by sarah cameron 1999
camera Andy Rumball and Sarah Cameron
thanks to Jordan Andreopoulos JAMvfx and brand new score by James Keane
PHENOMENON 22
inspired by PHENOMENON 1999 in 2022
this is a very rough scratch excerpt, the film is in the making, the writing aye in the writing
PHENOMENON 2022 is part of a 5 film installation
created, written, directed by sarah Cameron
camera and post-production Charlie doherty
sound/music James Keane
experiments in emotion
PHENOMENON 1999, originally shown in MY OLD MAN SAID FOLLOW THE VAN curated by Carolina Grau was resurrected and its accompanying poem, though rough, had good bones from which to birth a new piece of writing and the performance film PHENOMENON 22. The works in experiments in emotion were all realised, made, written, filmed, played, scored and performed in the 2 months just before the exhibition (in the case of the Super 8 film PHENOMENON 99 (and the pret-a-porter sculpture Chapeau de Jalousie - pret-a-porter sculpture's page is under construction) re-born. Each was either a sketch or a work in progress, the intuitive brushstrokes of works in flux, motion, enquiry. The challenge was to show my working process within the strict boundary of a limited time-frame, no matter where I was currently in terms of practice, knowledge or research; also, to initiate immersion and freedom of play without judgement, question, fear or even aim; liberation after a period of stasis, both self-imposed and (pandemically) imposed; engagement with the world after a period of isolation and change; restoration of former skills and inquiry into new ones. The experiment has manifested several long-term projects.
text for this section (excerpt):
the fizz an’ curse (section five)*the commotion
“YOUSE
bloatit sooted-booted secks
o’feechie fyle veenality *disgusting foul
grubbin’
maire onON maire o’feelthy ill-got booty *more filthy
YOUSE
savage, perfumt SCUM
seek-o’pense, void o’milken-kindness seeck-of-thought *sick of mind
faur-socht*, malverse*, soulless *scheming *corrupt,dishonest
creepin-kneesy-tap-beastie-sodden-cerpet pander tae thiefie king an’ Queenie
fill stufft yir oily pockets wi oor money *stuffed your
oor dosh! Ugh
YOUSE *YOU
scunnersome hertless *FUDS *abhorrent dicks
schamin eejit leear *THUGS *scheming idiot *liar
cruddy hoity-toity murhtherin’ bawBAGS *curdled murdering scrotums
o’crockination* an’ HATE destruction
take take take
…aw swindling swickerie* *swindlng
a deal a dab a wadge fou* o’ dollar *full
grinnin’ idlers
butcherin’ ivery livin’ creatur
tae bluidy smasherie an’ ruinage,
gettin’ feelthy rich an’ plush filthy
UGGSOME SLUGS!
vapid tae the crusty brim, BARRON
o’ empathy, humaneety
nae drap o’common decency in yourn stiff-upper & tart souls
Souls! Youse dinnae hae any!
- the weans stairve
mithers, faithers wirk lifeless an’ breathless
eildit an’ infirm dinnae hae a chancie *elderly
scholarts nae hae time tae study jest tryin’ tae find the money
futurs boond by det & bill
bombs iver drapp frae BLAH BLAH tae BLAH BLAAT *drop
biblical in pairt
coffers ower-flow wi’ bluid-draigelt profeet *blood drenched profit
an’ the-whiles we gasp fir breath
youse powdert dandies perty *party
PERTY!
quaffin’ liquid ruby an’ sperklin’ gowd *sparkling
ramshin’ gowd encrustit chooks an’ hams *chickens
gowd ice-cake an’ middle-finger emerant sponge *emerald
stuffin’ siller coinage up gash an’ erse *vagina and arse
ivery sodden orifice
wi’ ransackt drip an’ swag
cos there’s nae maire space in yer hoose, yer bank!
An we, we the near rest o’ the warld ,be damned
MURTHERERS, youse!
We, the great unwasht
Expire,
oor lungs arreestit arrested
cos youse bandits have stole ivry pairt o’the globe *every part
frae ivery human an’ ainimal soul. animal
YOUSE CUNTS!
Feck off! feck
Youse too can jest feck off
FECK OFF intil an ditch
A CURSE UPO” YER HEIDS!
DIE, youse odorous, silken-kittet FRAUDS
Youse bumptious unctuous wanthrift TURDS extravagant
DIE a yaukin-pine, lanerly, dunk an’ clarty daith *agonising/ *lonely/ *damp/*dirty
let nae-soul keep tender yon luvless haund til the hereafter
let kelt an’jobbied flea-sappit rats ramsh rank flesh *very dirty/ *shitty/flea-soaked/gobble
rip-oot
root by root
gowd-dippt teeth
an’ whiles youse aye quiverin’-breathe,
may fylt black beetle slorach satin gem-filt ears soiled/eat noisily, slobber
slaw, slaw slow
that we may hear youse yelp an’ squaw
in agonisin’ thraws
let sleepperie wirm sup-upo’ slochie* pumpt maw slippery/*slimy
an’ jelly een* *eye
while youse guffaw guffaw
Hah!
an’ may slaikit, bausie tongue beslobbering/large, fat, course
hivy an’taut wi deessemblin’, dissemling
aye evisceratin’ the poverty-struck,
the knackert
the burnt oot
seekin’ tae live athoot
squalor war famine
may thon tongue rot,
turn black an’thick as dung,
an faw aff fall off
A CURSE UPO” YER HEIDS! YOUR HEADS
Die!
Bottler* an maggot *bluE bottle
be soleetary freends
when thon brain is ate by creamy wrigglin’ beasties
heid crackt sindert * apart
boilt egg mush
bowfin unholy maukit * stench smelly/filthy, decayed, putrid
grub pus an’ foulest excrement
be aye alert
tae squeerms an’ teeny-tiny maws gobblin’
frae cerveau tae erse-hole tae soul brain/arse-hole
iverefter
A CURSE UPO’ YER HEIDS!
DIE
anguisht in terreefication an’ crushin’ pain terror
nae howp o’resurrection, or gain
let mangey merciless hell-hoond
frichtsome o’canine fang frightful
ane by ane
shred lairdy-digits, fat-a’dreepin’ lardy
frae greasin’ erses the continents far-streechin’
let frenzied mutt devour
ilk cunnin’ joint an’ deegit athoot surrender each/digit/without
rip whack tear spleet *split
cleave guzzle slerp
an’ verra verra toothsome
afore yourn weepin’ een,
sclice yon spleen, slice
shraid snooty snout raw, gnaw shred
bluid draigelt bone drenched
NOWT but massacre
Karma fir millenia o’plunder, slauchter, murder
Know,
know well that youse are
but dist dist dist
Awa,
awa tae rot in hell,
Youse suppurating gang o’ne’re’do’well!
Youse villains, bruits,
crabs strippt hellish nakit
Niver tae atone
Flayed til bone
Anerly wicket o’ deed
A CURSE UPO’ YER HEIDS!”