Double Exposure,
Crescendo 1 & 2, &
Reading on the Train
Ann-Marie LeQuesne
Video SeriesJuly 17 – 26, 2014
Ann-Marie LeQuesne stages performances with groups of people in public places. Her invitation to participate is an open one. The actions are simple, but are often disrupted or altered by their location. LeQuesne invites both the participation of her collaborators and the attention of those passing by. The action is then filmed or photographed, becoming material for a subsequent restaging from the documentation.
In Double Exposure (2004), LeQuesne simultaneously photographed two groups in distant cities that were linked via cell phone. Participants stood on the steps in front of the National Gallery, London, and the Lutheran Cathedral, Helsinki. Following directions on prompt cards, the two groups attempted synchronized global communication.
Crescendo 1 & 2 (2009) asked participants to create a crescendo with their stature and voices by singing as they walked in line according to height. Once the line was complete and the crescendo at its loudest, the shortest person left and immediately stopped singing. The rest of the group then followed in sequence.
In Reading on the Train (2010) participants read from books about trains as they processed through Crouch End station, a disused London railway line that closed in 1954.
About the Artist
LeQuesne grew up in the United States, but has lived most of her life in the United Kingdom. She has a wide range of experience in collaborative performances, including events in the Tate Modern, the Tate Britain, a performance at the Arsenal Football Grounds, and a staged event on an icebreaker in the Arctic Circle.
In 2012 LeQuesne was funded by Franklin Furnace Foundation to present Fanfare for Crossing the Road – New York. Fanfare for Crossing the Road – Cardiff was commissioned by O:4W, the 4th Wall Film Festival. In March 2014 she exhibited You Are Here – The Annual Group Photograph, 1997-2014, at the Museum of the Photographic Archive in Lisbon.
LeQuesne has received funding from Arts Council England, The British Council, The Arts and Humanities Research Board, London Arts, and the Royal College of Art. She was made a fellow of the Royal College of Art in 2009.