Wednesday 14 August 2019

Introducing Alexandra Queen

Over 100 artists are taking part in The Tate Staff Biennale which will take place on the last week of August on Level 5 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. Today it's the turn of Alexandra Queen
Where did you grow up and what kind of education did you receive? "I grew up on Lesvos island in Greece, but soon I moved to the UK; the fervour I have always felt for Performing Arts drew me to study Drama at the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire."
How long have you been working at the Tate and what's the best show you've seen there? "I have worked at the Tate since September 2015. There have been many great shows in Tate over the years, but my favourites were Alexander Calder, Agnes Martin and Dorothea Tanning. I admire and support women artists and I am touched by the beauty, sensitivity and great spirit of those women. As a filmmaker I could not miss the 24-hour film installation of ''The Clock'' by Christian Marclay, which I saw several times."
What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate modern show? "I will be exhibiting ''Little Green Street'', a short silent comedy film which narrates the story of a Little Tramp who faces a formidable challenge when he falls for a maid that he meets on Little Green Street, but his plans are dashed when a prying policeman gets in his way. ''Little Green Street'' was initially inspired by the early short comedy films (12 two-reel ) of Charlie Chaplin, during his period of the silent film era (1916-1917) of film-making with the Mutual Film Corporation. The film pays a tribute to Chaplin's memorable and universal screen persona, ''The Little Tramp''. The project was formed from improvisation work on a basic outline using the art of bodily and facial expressions (pantomime and clowning), comic movements in sync and visual gags, a repertoire of movements for a ''Castlewalk'' dance scene and some (silent) dialogue to communicate the story to the audience. As Chaplin was a pioneer of moving pictures, I tried as a director to imitate and capture on camera the heroes' fast movement pace, and how that pace could change from fast to slow depending on the emotion of the scene - with the help of the skilled cinematographer, Vasily-f (Vasileios Fountoukos), who also works at Tate Modern. ''Little Green Street'' will have its first public screening at the ''Tate Staff Biennale'' exhibition."
How can people find out about your work - do you have a website or do Instagram? People can find out about my work through the following Facebook pages of my short movies: https://www.facebook.com/LittleGreenStreet/ , https://www.facebook.com/DIDshort2015/ or through IMDb, an online database of information related to films and television programmes: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7595341/. They can also contact me via email at: alexandra_kavoura@hotmail.com"
What's the best thing about working at the Tate? "The best thing about working at the Tate is the sense of a community which is passionate about the Arts, and who want to share their personal experience and vast knowledge with visitors. I also love that I am working into a building transformed from a power house into a modern gallery, and I am taken back in time every time I am around in Turbine Hall and the Tanks."
The Tate Staff Biennale will take place on Level 5 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG

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