Alice Ellis-Bray: I am the Colour Wilhelmina saw you in

Watch a film screening of the performance, I am the Colour Wilhelmina saw you in by Alice Ellis-Bray.

The performance was inspired by the journals written by Scottish-born artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham CBE (1912–2004) who was based in St Ives for much of her life and a key figure in the abstract modern art movement.

Wilhelmina wrote that she remembered people by their colours through her experience of synaesthesia. Through research into Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s life, her relationships, and the environments she responded to, Alice created a performance of spoken word and movement which is led by the rhythm of the breath.

The costume worn during the performance was made using an abstract painting by Alice’s grandfather, Brian Ellis in the 1960s. To embrace personifying colour itself the performance is filmed against the vibrant backdrop of Wall Drawing #1136 2004 by artist Sol LeWitt in Gallery 8.

The film is being screened in the St Ives Studio, a family-friendly space to relax in, read a book or play.

About Alice Ellis Bray
Alice Ellis Bray (b.1994) is an artist from Lamorna, Cornwall. She creates costume, painting, film, performance, sculpture, and script to explore the infinite possibilities of identity. Through understanding properties of nature as well as and the nature of people, Alice seeks to portray interconnectedness with all things and her own experience of self.

Alice Ellis Bray performing at the Winter Festival, 2021 © Steve Tanner