Splice is a moving collage film by artist Teresa Grimaldi. Teresa, who spent much of her childhood in Sandown Bay, is known for her multi-layered installations and puppetry. A storyteller at heart, Splice is in many ways a visual poem to Sandown; a dreamland where pumas walk along the beach, laughing competitions are held on the pier, and spirits are conjured into seafoam.
“Memories can often take on a surrealist quality and certainly for me growing up in Sandown there is a meshing of people, events and places that come together in a madcap eclectic jumble – some as fragments others as vivid as sprinkles on a 99. In Splice, I have collected multi-layered imagery of the town’s geology, people and places and presented it in a way that creates modern mythology – a place where Lewis Carroll meets Bagpuss, where big cats are welcomed refugees and parts of cloud crumble down to be washed along the sea edge. In the end, it’s perhaps memories that are our most valuable gift.
I was lucky to speak to Charlotte Corney the founder of The Wildheart Trust about her memories of growing up in Sandown and looking after the big cats at Isle of Wight Zoo when it was owned by her parents Jack and Judith. Charlotte often had to hand-rear orphan cubs and has undoubtedly developed a kinship with these spectacular creatures that’s still at the heart of her animal welfare work today. Her father Jack was renowned for walking tigers and other big cats along the beach, he even took one to the pub in Brading! Although this would be frowned upon now at the time I imagine it was motivated by bonding and giving the cats some freedom. Things have evolved since those days but those stories are important as part of our unique history and mythology.
Charlotte recalls the very different personalities:
Zena was funny. I used to walk her down to the Holy Sailor, she was quite introverted and sensitive. We used to see a Jack Russell on the walk. When we passed each other Zena used to hide behind me so she couldn’t be seen. We always used to laugh, me and this guy walking the Jack Russell, like look there you are with your tiger hiding behind you!
As part of the public engagement, I talked to many people to develop the story strands in Splice. We met via zoom as a result of the pandemic and narratives emerged about tiger patterns in the sand being symbolic of acceptance, of the magic at the shoreline where elements collide perhaps allowing spirits to briefly wander, of tuppence fingers after spending a day feeding the coin machines in the arcades as well as the sheer bliss of summer spent at the beach. These all form part of the concoction that is Splice.
Teresa Grimaldi September 2021
Unearthing the image of Janet wearing an elegant traditional Chinese dress walking a puma on Sandown beach, around 1965, has been one of the highlights of the Splice project. The extraordinary image is stunning and would sit happily in the pages of Vogue and yet she was just an ordinary girl working at the Zoo. It’s a wonderful moment of time and memory of Sandown’s curious past that may have been lost if it wasn’t for this project. The photo came to light when I put out a call on social media.
Teresa Grimaldi is an artist, puppet maker and educator based on the Isle of Wight. A visual artist crossing forms of materials, puppets and installation, Teresa Grimaldi was born on the Isle of Wight in 1966 into a family of ice cream vendors. She studied a Degree in Theatre Design, worked as a freelance designer prior to studying for a puppetry postgraduate diploma at Central School of Speech and Drama and an MA in Visual Performance at Dartington College of Arts. Teresa Grimaldi has participated in group and solo shows in the UK, Norway and Italy and her artworks have appeared in galleries, theatres and journals internationally. She had her first major UK solo show at Quay Arts, Isle of Wight in 2009. Teresa is currently supported by Arts Council England in developing her Animation practice.
https://teresagrimaldi.cargo.site/ Insta @teresarosemarygrimaldi teresarosegrimaldi@gmail.com
