"Is my truth your truth?

What’s true to me is who I am now…
…having travelled only a fraction of my journey…
…with the past in mind.

A momentary reality within my world or merely a factual line-up of events…"
(Esther Fawcett-Wolf)

"three shades of true" is a collaborative multi-media exhibition with photography, music and narrative.
 
Esther Fawcett-Wolf works with different media disciplines to stimulate the viewers’ senses. In “three shades of true” the atmospheric setting of the basement of Shoreditch Town Hall (29 April - 7 May 2010) and the Rad Orchestra’s musical concept interact with her photography and narrative. Visitors are encouraged to engage and reflect on the different scenarios in the photographs and question their perceptions. The storyline is written in the first person and in present tense in order to create immediacy and intimacy.
 
“I am driven by my investigation into the dynamics of the human psyche. My work is an exploration into the way we make sense of religion, morals, politics and social issues. I like to open up people's perception and question dogmas.“ (Esther Fawcett-Wolf)
 
The exhibition starts with a triptych of photographs alongside a narrative that acts as the start of a story to introduce the process of seeking clarity. Following on are pairs and individual pictures inviting the viewer to use their own interpretation. Finally there is a repetition of images, representing a journey of reoccurring memories.
 
Fawcett-Wolf’s photographs are predominantly devoid of people and portrayed in low light. By seeing the photographs from the artist’s perspective the viewer becomes involved and is placed into the ambiguity of presence and absence alike. The additional sense of hearing the accompanying musical compositions contradicts the initial perception of what one sees and adds another dimension to the experience.
 
The music by the Rad Orchestra stylistically underlines the literal “lifeless” spaces within the photographs.
As a result the musicians are placed in physical isolation to each other at different points within the exhibition space. Each musician plays their own part, the collective composition can then be heard at the "destination"
via speakers. The "destination" is the final room of the show where the visitors all come together, being directed by a series of “lights”. For the individual, being given guidance is an innate human desire e.g the righteous path, the red tape or the parental order, which is expected to be deviated from by some.
 
The public is drawn towards the music spilling from different rooms into the halls. In each room dedicated to music is a chair and a speaker. Recordings are played when the musicians are “absent”. The individual spaces evoke different moods or perspectives. Visitors passing through experience separate realities until they hear the concluding piece.