Chichester Festival Theatre

The nationally acclaimed Chichester Festival theatre is celebrating its 60th anniversary. It was established by Laurence Olivier and was a precursor of the National Theatre. Designed by Moya and Powell the building was cutting edge. The original festival was held in a tent and the current building reflects its early beginnings. In making a work for the exhibition I wanted to link The Novium Museum's collections and the theatre. The museum displays several fragments of Roman mosaics found in the city. The architect's ground plan of the theatre is based on elongated hexagons which I thought would make an interesting basis for a mosaic. Unlike Roman mosaics, which were made from stone tessellations, mine is made from ceramic. After rolling and cutting the clay it was fired. At this stage a decision was made to glaze the fragments. The unglazed work resembled archaeological excavation, perhaps how the theatre may look in the distant future. The bright celebratory colours were chosen to reflect pop art of the 1960s recalling Peter Blake, fairgrounds and circus tents suggesting the theatre's origins. The finished work attempts to link and celebrate art and creativity in Chichester over 1800 years to the present day.