Clare Brown goes back to school to fulfil her artistic ambitions
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Mature student Clare Brown has taken the plunge and gone back to school in the last two years and is now on track to showcase her work at the London Short Film
Festival (LSFF) in January. Clare is enrolled on a one year ‘Documentary and Narrative Film’ course at Tower Hamlets College and has successfully applied to exhibit
her film, entitled ‘Still Life: London’, at the Festival from 8-17 January. As Clare admits, coming back to education was a tricky yet worthwhile decision.
“It is strange to study at a College - the noise level takes some getting used to! Tower Hamlets College is also a bit different to most educational institutions
because of it’s location in Poplar, which is next to Canary Wharf, and the disparity between the Wharf and the rest of East London.”
Clare, who works in a partnership called Wyllie O’Hagan as a Visual Artist, originally enrolled to study Digital Fine Art at the college last year. It was there that
she began working on ‘Still Life: London’ as part of her course project and she has not looked back since.
“I had always worked as a painter/printmaker but I began to move into moving image a few years ago so I needed to improve my skill set. I couldn’t have made the film
without the skills I learnt on the course. The tutors are acknowledged experts in their respective fields and we had access to cutting edge equipment and software. I
have to travel from North London every day but it is worth it as the course is extraordinary and unique. I have used the techniques I learnt in more of my recent work
and it was a great foundation.”
‘Still Life: London’ was filmed in London and has already been shown at festivals in Canada. Clare has also been invited to the Melbourne Short Film Festival in 2010,
as well as London.
“It has been tremendous challenge to make and has been well received on the festival circuit. The film is shot in two screens and has a poignant soundtrack. It
contrasts the frenetic with the still and illustrates the juxtaposition between public and private space. Our inspiration came from the idea of framing a moment, a
quest for stillness in a hectic world. We have created a tradition still life painting in a digital moving format.”
Clare has recently returned from an exhibition of her new work in Russia, for which they won the Michael Nyman Film Competition for the most creative and original use
of his soundtrack, “The Embrace”, in their digital short film ‘A Deep White Sea: Karelia’.
“It is a really exciting time for us as artists. Russia was freezing but a wonderful experience and we have a number of other exciting projects in the pipeline. You
get a real sense of satisfaction from seeing your work displayed at major events so things are going really well in that sense.”
Still Life: London is screening at 4.30 pm on Saturday 16th January at the Roxy Cinema, 128 – 132 Borough High Street, London SE1.