Mathilda Hardstone

It is often easy to forget the artists behind a stage set. However, this time it’s not about the performance, but a representation of unrestrained devotion to the world of all things theatrical, a wider world which is often restricted for an audience. 

My work is a reawakening of the expressionist era, a continuation of the creations in the disproportionate, two-dimensional world of 20s cinema. Perspective, line, depth, tone, all associated with painting and “higher art” are present in my illusive, unstable MDF flats. 

Expressing themes towards cult symbolism, horror fiction and folklore, “Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here!” (named after a quote from Shakespeare’s The Tempest), reflects the darker work of Derek Jarman and Ken Russell, whilst incorporating themes of Modernism and emulating Leon Bakst’s designs for the Ballet Russes. 

It is to be hoped that viewers gain an understanding and an appreciation of the further dimensions to theatre, cinema, and performance in general, besides what is immediately apparent to their audiences.