Alright on the Night
I’m collapsed on the settee as I write this, thoroughly exhausted with nervous energy and burning the midnight oil but happy to report that ‘It was alright on the opening night.’ Well much more than alright actually. Everything was ready, working, looked fantastic and it was very well attended and received.
The Nissan: 30 Years On exhibition is a collection of images, film, soundtrack, quotes and audio interviews which portrays the effects of the Japanese motor manufacturer in the North East.
James and I with Ged and Michael, two of our ‘interviewees’
It’s been wonderful to work collaboratively with photographer James Sebright and together we’ve produced portraits of people at home through photography and audio interviews, portraits of workers at Nissan Sunderland plant through photography and asking the question ‘Working at Nissan has enable me to…’
As a soundtrack to James’ film of plant machinery, I wrote and recorded a creative narrative – a series of 49 haikus describing my tour around Nissan:
Here in reception/Shoes squeak on shiny flecked floor/We’ve come for the tour
Corporate colours/On this our red letter day/Even sky is grey
Thirty years ago/A cloud of desolation/A land abandoned
For James’ photographs of Nissan shop floor, we subtly planted a caption on each photo which encapsuated some of the things we had discovered, aspirations of workers, parallels to the former mining industry.
Exhibition photo by James Sebright, caption by Rachel Cochrane
The evening included a word of thanks from Curator Dr Craig Barclay who described me as a ‘word artist.’ I think I might just adopt that description as I have been struggling what to call myself for some time because the title ‘writer’ doesn’t really cover everything I do.
Then a word of thanks by me on behalf on both James and myself especially to those who took part and to Craig who has supported and championed our project through its ups and downs. Working on Nissan: 30 Years On has been a journey in which I’ve grown both creatively and on a personal level.
Already we have media interest with reports by the Northern Echo CLICK HERE and BBC website CLICK HERE
I hope you find time to visit and enjoy Nissan: 30 Years On at The Oriental Museuem, Elvet Hill, Durham DH1 3TH which runs until 18th October 2015. I would love to know what you think!
