Artist, poet, choreographer and gardener Alex Cecchetti presented the incantation, Walking Backwards (2013-ongoing), specifically re-conceived for the eight-acre, historical garden of the little-known and enchanting Myddelton House, once the home of gardener and botanist Edward Augustus Bowles.
Inspired by the remarkable biodiversity of the vegetation, guides led audience members, one by one, on a backwards walk. Accompanied by the whispers of a guide, as plant species, pathways and thoughts came into unexpected view, Walking Backwards weaved together dream, botany, poetry, intimacy and trust.
Produced by Emily Rudge. Curated by Lucia Pietroiusti as part of General Ecology.
Alex Cecchetti (1977-2014) was an artist, a poet, a gardener and a choreographer. Difficult to classify, his work can be considered as the art of the un-representable: tactile and poetic, aesthetic and materialistic, it creates mental and physical environments in which the spectators are often part of the work. The artist died for the first time in 2014 for unknown reasons, though he keeps producing new works, present new performances and publish new poems. Cecchetti has exhibited his work broadly and recent solo exhibition include: At the gate of the music palace at Spike Island, Bristol, UK and Void, Derry, Ireland (all in 2018). Tamam Shud at La Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel, France and Centre For Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland; Cetaceans at Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy (all 2017); The Printing House of Hell at Kunstraum, London, UK (215); Comrades of fear and wonder at Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius, Lithuania (2012). Cecchetti’s performances have been presented at venues including Palais de Tokyo, Paris and ThalieLab / Thalie Art Foundation, Bruxelles(2017); Parades, Palais De La Découverte, FIAC 2016, Paris and Playground Festival, M Leuven & STUK, Leuven, Belgium (2016); Serpentine Galleries, London (2015); Serralves Foundation, Porto, (2014); South London Gallery (2013); MAXXI museum, Rome (2012).
