A Tender Ascent

2 Mar-15 May 2022

PV 26 Feb 2022, 2-8.30pm

A Tender Ascent, 2020. Credit: Maëva Berthelot and Coby Sey

Overview

Live performance: 2pm, Saturday 16 April.

We are delighted to invite you to our first exhibition of 2022, A Tender Ascent, from choreographer and performer Maëva Berthelot and musician, vocalist and DJ Coby Sey.

Developed, filmed and presented in Wysing’s gallery, A Tender Ascent is an immersive audio-visual installation bringing together filmed performance, 5.1 surround sound and sculpture. A new live performance will re-activate the gallery space at the exhibition launch and a second event on 16 April. 

A Tender Ascent is a study of collaboration as ebb and flow. Sey and Berthelot feel out the way that embodied experiences of sound and movement might connect or disconnect, producing new sensations in the process. They explore how frequency might translate into movement, gesture into resonance, image into vibration. The soundtrack that guides their experiment moves from calming synth washes to jagged 150bpm rhythms, and finally to minor key piano, as two figures in hazmat suits explore instruments, a stage set, and each other. Referencing the strangeness of science fiction and the everyday moments of isolation caused by the pandemic, the work sees Berthelot and Sey moving in and out of synch with the soundtrack, the natural world, and each other, as their roles become fluid and hierarchies dissolve. 

A Tender Ascent 16 April Performance 
Saturday 16 April, 2 – 4.30pm 

We are delighted to invite you to the final performance of ‘A Tender Ascent’ at Wysing. Developed by choreographer and performer Maëva Berthelot and musician, vocalist and DJ Coby Sey, the performance expands on the exhibition of the same name, which can also be viewed during the event. 

The event is open to all, but due to Covid-19 booking is essential. Transport from Cambridge is available with 'pay what you can' options. Book a space on our Eventbrite by clicking here.

Event Timings 

1.45pm — Arrivals 
2pm — Performance 
3.10pm — Exhibition opens 
4.30pm — Event ends, Cambridge transport departs Wysing 
 
Transport Information 

Transport for the performance will depart Cambridge train station at 1.15pm; arrive Wysing 1.45pm; depart Wysing 4.30pm; arrive back in Cambridge at 5pm. 

We will send an email prior to the event with details on travel, Covid safety and what expect on the day. 
 
Access Information 

- Wheelchair accessible transport - We can offer wheelchair accessible transport from Cambridge. If you require wheelchair accessible transport, please tick the box on the ticket checkout page and we will be in touch by email to confirm arrangements with you. Please let us know by 12 midday on Wednesday 13 April so we can make arrangements. 
- A calm decompression space is available onsite. 
- Accessible parking and toilets are available. 
- The exhibition is wheelchair-accessible. 
- Free Companion Tickets for transport are available for anyone who needs them. 
- An audio description of A Tender Ascent is available on headphones. 
- The soundtrack is captioned, and elements of the soundtrack can be experienced physically through sculptures that emphasise low frequencies.

If you have other access requirements that you would like to check with us before booking, please get in touch with Ceri Littlechild, Wysing’s Deputy Director, at [email protected] and we will be happy to help. 

Covid Safety 

- Our team will be wearing masks and we ask you to continue wearing masks indoors (unless you are exempt). 
- Sanitiser points and spare masks are available around the site. 
- Capacity of the exhibition spaces will be monitored. 
- Toilets will be available in our buildings with antibacterial wipes and spray. 
- The event and performance will have capacity capped at 50%. Transport organised by Wysing will also be at reduced capacity. 
- If the event is cancelled, paid transport tickets will be fully refunded. 
- Please note: We will require evidence of a negative lateral flow test from all attendees. 

A Tender Ascent represents the culmination of work begun during Wysing’s ‘Broadcasting’ themed year in 2020, when Berthelot and Sey were in-residence at Wysing as part of the programme for Wysing Polyphonic: The Ungoverned (curated by A---Z).

A Tender Ascent is supported by Arts Council England and Fluxus Art Projects. Wysing Arts Centre would like to wish a special thank you to A---Z (Anne Duffau). 

Sound: Lottie Poulet 
Editing: Geoffrey Taylor 
Technical Production: Jack Wilson, Liam Cahill and Wilf Speller 
Exhibition curated by John Eng Kiet Bloomfield 
A Tender Ascent was commissioned for Wysing Polyphonic: The Ungoverned by A---Z (Anne Duffau).

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