Poetry in the Dark

Photos by Candy Dandy

Dandifest's evening entertainment with Poetry in the Dark.

Held in St. Margaret's church of art. During the day Vince Laws held his lantern workshops out the front of the church. There was a sense of urgency which made the workshop even more exciting. Everyone was grabbing jars and stencilling leaves from the graveyard on the jars. 

Letters painted on the jam jars and they spell out the words Dandy

These jars say Dandifest. Sitting in front of the 5th plinth as you enter the festival.

E. One of the letters on the plastic giant letters that break the large space up and create the feeling of walking into a butchers shop. 

Poetry in the dark has had its first performance poem shared amongst friends. Vince Laws poem read performed by a array of performers in the audience, creating extra levels to the poem. 

Candle lit church as it would have been for centenaries. 

Looking down Ann Nicholls hall of fame at the audience.

Red carpet rolled out for Dandifest in the entrance.

Vince Laws dressed in his sailor top performing his poem.

Dugald Ferguson ( Doodle Dandy) and Trudy Howson performing Vince Laws poem.

Hayley Hare performing her wolf show in Putins bed.

Kayla Bainger Death gardening show.

Here she is planting herself in a bucket. 

Trudy Chatting to Marcus

Ai Wei Wei doll, flat out on his sunflower seeds

Gardening audience.

After show banter

Everyone has had fun at Poetry in the dark

Even John Lennon and Yoko Ono dolls get to chill out and listen to the poetry

Marcus Dickey Horley said he loves my Ai Wei Wei doll and has lots of stories to tell about the real Ai Wei Wei sunflower installation at the Tate.

Marcus chatting to Ann Nicholls (Dandy Snap)

In bed with Putin

In bed with Putin was a fantastic installation at Dandifest by Doodle Dandy Dugald Ferguson. Dugald made the work in Berlin and put it all together at St. Margaret's Church of Art for Dandifest in Norwich. The quality of the work was amazing. Dugald made an amazing quilt cover influenced by a peacock. While it was an installation, Dugald also told stories in bed and made books to read to people.

During the opening night Shelly Telly Filmed the event and got into bed with Dugald telling a story. 

Celebrity Dandy Pequlia Bigtopp also lay in bed and told a story by Dugald. The bed was a great success and through out the festival people got into bed and had a rest to enjoy the work. 

Vince Laws put his Russian dolls with Dugalds work and Eloise O'Hare's Pussy Riot doll hung out by the bed. 

Dandifest take down 2014

Photos curtsy of Ann Nicholls

The Norwich Dandies create a space where difference is accepted, encouraged and valued.

A colourful sign painted by Vince Laws

Thanks Dano Wheels for all your help during Danifest. Here he is carrying some lovely lanterns

Bed dismantle Dugald takes apart his bed 

Letting air out of the bed

Dugald giving his bed a big squeeze

Carnation flowers still looking good after too weeks on the giant still life

Dugald lowering the pant flag

A couple of mermen floating around

The end of Dandifest were very sad to see it go, but maybe next year something even more special will happen.

Adopt A Pansy

Adopt A Pansy by Vince Laws. Around 87 countries round the world do something to criminate homosexuals. Vince Laws makes everyone aware of this travesty by getting people to adopt a pansy. 

Thanks to the people who grew the pansies. Vince likes to reuse as much as possible and he collected cans to jazz up with all the countries painted on each can. People wrote in a lovely book which Pansy they adopted. The Pansies were placed throughout the festival and certainly brightoned the place up.

The Pansy project was made possible by Debbie Sutton who also held the Paint a Pansy workshops. 

A flower Nursery in Boston in Lincolnshire gave some Pansies in kind. 

Cans all painted and ready to pot for adoption. 

Turings Quilt by the Manns family

Photo by Eloise O'Hare 2014©

Mark Mann and his Mother Bridget Mann made this outstanding quilt of Alan Turing and its called Letters to his mother. Its about Turing writing to his best mates mother letters over a long period. Because his best mate had died. 

Turing cracked the Enigma code and helped end the 2nd world war. He was a genius but also was persecuted for being homosexual and got out of going to prison by being chemically castrated. He committed suicide a few years later. The British government treated him very badly and in 2010 Gordon Brown made an official apology. The Queen also did a posthumous pardon. 

Recently Mark Mann and his Mother Bridget won top prize at the 2014 International Festival of Quilts for there amazing quilt. Dandifest were very lucky to house such a fantastic work of art for its first viewing. 

Claire Freer sculpture on 5th Plinth

Claire Freer International artist who is originally from Camberra in Australia but has lived in lots of places and went to Goldsmiths art college in London to do her MA. She has also spent time in Norwich and worked with Dandy Candy Eloise O'Hare on numerous fabulous workshops and festivals over the last 20 years. Claire now lives on works in the dessert in Australia and works with women artists weaving amazing sculptures, recently they showed there work at the MCA in Sydney and next year they plan to do Venice Biennially in 2015. Claire made this work on the 5th Plinth in Camden town in London where she had a studio. 

Made in plaster with a boot polish finish.