ALLY UP! (2022)

INSPIRED IN PART BY AN ALL-FEMALE WRESTLING MATCH WITNESSED IN MEXICO WHERE THE RING WAS LIT BY PICKUP TRUCK HEADLIGHTS, AND THE IDEA Of AN AMERICAN ROADSHOW-COME-TAILGATER…

NOW-ID PRESENTED: ALLY UP! THE INAUGURAL (WE HOPE!) @NOWWIDWORKS / @MAVENSLC EVENT + BALLET TAILGATER.

THE EVENT TOOK PLACE ON JUNE 25, 2022 BEHIND 165 EAST 900 SOUTH, IN SALT LAKE CITY.

THE ARTISTS INVOLVED:

Choreographer: Charlotte Boye-Christensen
Architect/Stage designer: Nathan Webster
Dancer/Luchadoras: Tara McArthur as Goo Goo Goldrush | Sydney Sorenson as Thunder Rose
Text-Based Visual Artist: Jamie Clyde
Ring Boy: Joshua Pace
Sound Engineer: Adam Day
Hair / Makeup: Stephanie Ericsson + Emiley Golie
Videographers: Parry Layne Decker-Tate and Bruce Caldwell
Motorcyclists: Leslie McDaniels and Guyla Vega
Menu curated by: Ty Dickerson | Hope Hornbeck | Susan Beck | Molly Warner

THE BELOW WORK BY TEXT-BASED VISUAL ARTIST, JAMIE CLYDE TOOK INSPIRATION FROM THE THEMES THAT WERE EXPLORED IN this PRODUCTION.

PLEASE CONTACT COLLABORATOR JAMIE CLYDE FOR SALES AT: ART@JAMIECLYDESTUDIO.COM.

Two Protagonists

By Jamie Clyde

The body of work by Jamie Clyde takes shape with two main characters. Humans and animals inauspiciously find themselves staged as actors performing an entertaining match of survival, struggle, and chaos. Fabricated for the amusement of The Gods, the story of man vs. man and man vs. his dinner is an allegory narrating the human drama within ourselves, collectively, and with nature. The mutual tensions we create as we wrestle within American society and the world, compose a scene gleefully ravaged by the onlookers in the front row. Looking to the heavens for respite won't work here, as the story's inhabitants are at the disposal of pleasure and intrigue. In this place, feelings of frustration and despair are all one possesses; there is no relief.

Two Protagonists is a tale used as an instrument for the artist to contend with sadness and suffering and responds to the seed idea of Artistic Director & Choreographer Charlotte Boye-Christensen. Charlotte described wanting to create something of a battle, reflecting the challenges of our times, her feeling when facing American and Global politics that present existential threats to our homes, the planet, and our collective rights to choice, life, and the well-being of children.

Luckily for its characters, the artist hints at hope with a twist as she reveals the phrase "I AM DEAD" on both canvas and material, referencing a meditation practice called "Maranasati: A Buddhist Reflection on Death.” Maranasati is a discipline that allows the death experience to become one's companion instead of a feared foe, permitting the practitioner an opportunity for tremendous gratitude, perspective, and compassion. The artist's text improvisations thus become a self-reflection and an opportunity for a better ending to a story with no way out.