The Fall of the Majestic is an ongoing project initiated by artists Dean Melbourne and Chantal Powell and curated by Anneka French. The long term project draws upon the two artist’s shared ideas to build a seductive collection of characters, objects and places centred around a quest for an undefined "Majestic" entity.
The first exhibition derived from this project took place at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and addressed notions of beauty, nature, and death through painting, slides and installation work.
From the starting point of a found photographic image of a group of animals picking over the carcass of an elk, the exhibition developed to incorporate fragments of a dramatic imagined narrative, with echoes of great adventure novels and epic poetry.
Dean Melbourne’s vivid painting-based practice draws heavily on symbolism and appropriated imagery from a wide variety of sources to build luscious ‘other’ worlds. His paintings straddle the boundaries between frenetic and controlled painting techniques, to form powerful works full of energy and drama. For the first exhibition, Melbourne transformed some of his large scale paintings into precious jewel-like slides, which were seen alongside other key works such as his painting entitled The Fall of the Majestic Elk, 2011.
Chantal Powell’s three dimensional work is immensely varied, but frequently uses laborious processes and tiny details to create complex objects and installations. Her works combine tactile, sensual materials including feathers and artificial flowers, with more stark or unexpected materials such as bone to construct startling yet subtle pieces. Some of her key works in the first exhibition include The Effects Of The Earth's Motions and Relics, both 2011.
The Fall Of The Majestic project is now being developed to include additional visual artists and creatives in order to create a deeply layered, experiential show that will journey to different locations and respond to changing spaces.
The first exhibition derived from this project took place at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and addressed notions of beauty, nature, and death through painting, slides and installation work.
From the starting point of a found photographic image of a group of animals picking over the carcass of an elk, the exhibition developed to incorporate fragments of a dramatic imagined narrative, with echoes of great adventure novels and epic poetry.
Dean Melbourne’s vivid painting-based practice draws heavily on symbolism and appropriated imagery from a wide variety of sources to build luscious ‘other’ worlds. His paintings straddle the boundaries between frenetic and controlled painting techniques, to form powerful works full of energy and drama. For the first exhibition, Melbourne transformed some of his large scale paintings into precious jewel-like slides, which were seen alongside other key works such as his painting entitled The Fall of the Majestic Elk, 2011.
Chantal Powell’s three dimensional work is immensely varied, but frequently uses laborious processes and tiny details to create complex objects and installations. Her works combine tactile, sensual materials including feathers and artificial flowers, with more stark or unexpected materials such as bone to construct startling yet subtle pieces. Some of her key works in the first exhibition include The Effects Of The Earth's Motions and Relics, both 2011.
The Fall Of The Majestic project is now being developed to include additional visual artists and creatives in order to create a deeply layered, experiential show that will journey to different locations and respond to changing spaces.