Polly Wright

The Garden Of Sleep from Polly Wright on Vimeo.

NAC Supported Artist Polly has created this beautiful lockdown film for us.

“I collect old photographs of places in Norfolk which have now disappeared and one of these is the Church Tower of Sidestrand which fell into the sea in 1916. This stretch of coast was once referred to as ‘Poppyland,’  made popular by writer Clement Scott, in the latter part of the 19th century. ‘Poppyland’ was a dream place for him and a place of escapism. My piece is inspired by this – a dreamscape of longing and borrowed nostalgia, about times and places which have been lost forever and how our memories have an impact on our present and forever haunt us.  I filmed, recorded and edited the piece completely at home, recording vocals in my dining room over piano and my Victorian parlour Organ and danced in front of an image of the church tower which I projected onto the wall.  It was a great opportunity to explore choreography and movement which is something I am starting to use more in my work.  Thanks to Guy Connelly for mixing the audio for me”

Polly is a musician whose work bleeds into Composition, Performance, Film, and Written Word.

She has created music for theatre, installation, poetry, fashion and dance and performed headline sold out shows at The National Portrait Gallery and Hoxton Music Hall. The album ‘Sing as the Crow Flies’, a collaboration with Laura Cannell, received Folk album of the month in the Guardian.

Her work is haunted by the ghosts of Nostalgia and Loss, the marsh, coast and village landscapes of East Anglia, Lieder of the Romantic era, derelict architecture and short stories.