Call the Rain
Costume Design
1998 (designed)
1998 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Costume design by Ali Pretty and Ray Mahabir for Radiance in Call the Rain, performed at Notting Hill Carnival in 1998. The costume is for the queen in the Call the Rain band, which was created for South Connections at Oval House. The band was a processional piece based on the theme of forgiveness and transformation.
The band were inspired by the following quote from Jeanette Winterson:
'Call The Rain- drops of mercy that revive the burnt earth.
Forgiveness that refills the droughted stream. The rain in opaque sheets falls at right angles to the sea. It is giddy this fluid geometry, the points, the solids, surfaces and lines that must undergo change. I will not be what I was. The rain transforms the water'. (Jeanette Winterson, Art and Lies,Vintage 1994).
Radiance is inspired by the poem as a celebration of the fertile earth coming back to life after drought. The design was realised using hand-painted silk, with the costume being cut before painting and then structured using rishing rods and fiberglass. The costume was created for and performed by Joan Francis.
Call the Rain won 1st prize at Notting Hill Carnival, and Ali Pretty and Ray Mahabir were awarded Best Designer of the Year.
The band were inspired by the following quote from Jeanette Winterson:
'Call The Rain- drops of mercy that revive the burnt earth.
Forgiveness that refills the droughted stream. The rain in opaque sheets falls at right angles to the sea. It is giddy this fluid geometry, the points, the solids, surfaces and lines that must undergo change. I will not be what I was. The rain transforms the water'. (Jeanette Winterson, Art and Lies,Vintage 1994).
Radiance is inspired by the poem as a celebration of the fertile earth coming back to life after drought. The design was realised using hand-painted silk, with the costume being cut before painting and then structured using rishing rods and fiberglass. The costume was created for and performed by Joan Francis.
Call the Rain won 1st prize at Notting Hill Carnival, and Ali Pretty and Ray Mahabir were awarded Best Designer of the Year.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Call the Rain (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Costume design by Ali Pretty and Ray Mahabir for Radiance in Call the Rain, Notting Hill Carnival, 1998 |
| Physical description | The design shows a forward facing female performer wearing a brown, orange and yellow fading dress with a large circular attachment behind the performer. The colours are yellow, brown and earthy with oval, eye-like patterns on the attachment panels, with underlying linear patterns throughout. The performer is also wearing a large raindrop shaped headdress, in orange and gold, with curved tasselled shoulder plates in a similar theme. The performer's hands are crossed at her waist to emphasise the fluidity of the large attachment that surrounds her. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Ali Pretty |
| Credit line | Given by Ali Pretty |
| Associations | |
| Summary | Costume design by Ali Pretty and Ray Mahabir for Radiance in Call the Rain, performed at Notting Hill Carnival in 1998. The costume is for the queen in the Call the Rain band, which was created for South Connections at Oval House. The band was a processional piece based on the theme of forgiveness and transformation. The band were inspired by the following quote from Jeanette Winterson: 'Call The Rain- drops of mercy that revive the burnt earth. Forgiveness that refills the droughted stream. The rain in opaque sheets falls at right angles to the sea. It is giddy this fluid geometry, the points, the solids, surfaces and lines that must undergo change. I will not be what I was. The rain transforms the water'. (Jeanette Winterson, Art and Lies,Vintage 1994). Radiance is inspired by the poem as a celebration of the fertile earth coming back to life after drought. The design was realised using hand-painted silk, with the costume being cut before painting and then structured using rishing rods and fiberglass. The costume was created for and performed by Joan Francis. Call the Rain won 1st prize at Notting Hill Carnival, and Ali Pretty and Ray Mahabir were awarded Best Designer of the Year. |
| Other number | THM/426/6/1/1 - Archive number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.303-2016 |
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| Record created | May 23, 2016 |
| Record URL |
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