Wednesday 21st May, the day of the shoot:
11am: We began our photo-shoot at the Theatre Restaurant, John Street, not far from Sunniside Gardens. The Theatre Restaurant supported our project by offering us their attic studio space for costume change. Carl Gregg (Design and VJ artist) arrived to record the event for us and collect video footage to mix into his own vj performance. Dave Foster from Square Photography and Dave from Shambles boutique (Sunniside) worked together on the photography – and we are all really looking forward to seeing the results.
12.30: Moving on down John Street, we descended on Eauzone Cafe bar who had agreed to host the first part of the shoot which links our characters to their Sunniside history. Gemma as Mary A Jedball, a dressmaker by day, kicked the shoot off in Eauzone with her dressmakers dummy.
1pm: Lunch, which Gemma and Kirsten managed inspite of the corsets and bustles.
2pm: Outside in Sunniside Gardens the main surprise of the day was how well the characters all worked together – it turned into much more of a team effort than we were anticipating. With Sam and Mitch (from Sunderland University) arriving to help Carl with supporting video footage, the whole day took on a sort of film crew feel.
3.30pm: Finishing the day at Square photography studio, Carl collecting film footage against a white background.
So the project continues, with Gemma`s next residency day (date yet to be arranged) set to discuss the photography, and how we might tie this all together into a cohesive exhibition.
