The Glasgow School of Art’s 2021 digital Christmas Card features a celebrated Christmas character captured on camera in spaces and places around the city
The Mouse brings together a creative team including graduates and students from the GSA, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and City of Glasgow College.
A ‘making of’ film short also released today
The GSA has today unveiled its 2021 digital Christmas Card, The Mouse, a filmwork inspired by one of the characters in Tchaikovsky’s much loved ballet, The Nutcracker, who is caught on camera in places and spaces around Glasgow city centre. The digital Christmas Card was commissioned from artist and current MFA student Julia Johnstone whose practice is based on recording and documenting live performance work. The starting point for this piece was her work The Fox, a film that was projected on to the scaffolding around the Mackintosh Building for GSA’s 2021 Graduate Showcase.
“The idea of the original work was a figure in a space – a fox sneaking around the scaffolding,” Julia explains. “I wanted to keep the idea of creeping around in this new piece and it was great to be able to combine it with a Christmas theme.”
“Using a character that was originally a villain – the Mouse King in the Nutcracker – gave a lot of room to play with especially for Fashion Designer Franz Maggs who designed the costume.”
For the commission Julia assembled an impressive team of creative collaborators including artists Eirini Kalogera and Lucas Orozco, who collaborated with her on the The Fox; fashion designer Franz Maggs and performer Sam Vaherlehto – a graduate of the Ballet School of the Finnish National Opera who is now studying Contemporary Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
The complex process of making the work involved initially the filming of the performance against a green screen. The performance was then displayed in ten second bursts on digital screens across Glasgow, and those screens then filmed on location to create the final festive work.
“A mouse king finds itself lost in the digital spaces around Glasgow at Christmas time… This familiar animal character with a Christmas theme appears in the “wrong” place and situation that it wouldn’t usually find itself in,” says Julia. “The digital screens around Glasgow city centre in Queen Street Railway Station, Buchanan Street Subway Station and Buchanan Street shopping area provide the stage for the mouse’s performance. The mouse king endeavours to discover the digital realm, dressed in purple and tulle splendour.”
“I initially approached Eirini and Lucas to work with me on this project as we had previously collaborated on a short film, The Fox, and I knew their artistic input would help to bring my vision for this project to life,” she adds. “The project then expanded to include expertise from Sam (performer), Franz (costume designer), Michelle (makeup and headwear designer), James (script supervisor), Craig (post production editor), Paul (musician) and Oscar (sound designer) to produce a collaborative project across different artistic disciplines.”
“We are delighted to share our 2021 digital Christmas card which has been commissioned from one of our 2021 graduates, Julia Johnstone,” says Professor Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art
“Creative collaboration is core to the educational experience at the GSA and in The Mouse Julia has brought together specialists from a wide range of different disciplines, ranging from filmmaking to jewellery and fashion design, music and dance, to create something truly magical.”
“It is a particular pleasure to see how students and graduates from the GSA, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Glasgow City College have joined forces in the making of The Mouse demonstrating the wealth of artistic talent that has been nurtured here in Glasgow.”
The Mouse: Creative Team
Julia Johnstone – 2021 GSA Fine Art graduate (Painting and Printmaking) and current MFA student
Sam Vaherlehto – former member of Finnish National Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre, currently studying Contemporary Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Lucas Orozco – GSA Fine Art Photography graduate (1993)
Eirini Kalogera – visual artist
Craig Nixon – final year BA Television student at City of Glasgow College
James Cockrell, American/Romanian Theatre and Filmmaker currently based in Glasgow
Franz Maggs – GSA Fashion Design graduate (2017)
Michelle Watson – designer of avant-garde headpieces, masks and accessories
Paul Docherty – violinist in third year of study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Oscar Prentice-Middleton – GSA Fine Art Photography (2013) and Sound for the Moving Image (2021) graduate
Nina Candido – 2021 GSA Silversmithing and Jewellery graduate
A film short by BAFTA Scotland award winning filmmaker and GSA graduate, Callum Rice, that documents the making of The Mouse has also been released today. Both films previewed at a special premiere at the Glasgow Film Theatre today
Ends
For further information
Lesley Booth
0779 941 4474
@GSofAMedia
Notes for Editors
Julia Johnstone
Julia Johnstone is a Glasgow based (fox) artist who graduated with a BA(Hons) Painting and Printmaking in 2021 and is currently studying for her MFA at the Glasgow School of Art. Her practice is informed by performance art documentation and the different methods of recording live art. Her work discusses themes of liveness, performance, documentation, characterisation and the moving image and looks to question the ways an audience might encounter performance art. She has recently produced and directed several collaborative film projects over the last year.
Sam Vaherlehto
Sam Vaherlehto graduated from the Ballet School of the Finnish National Opera in 2007 and afterwards worked for the Finnish National Ballet until 2010. In 2010 he won the first So You Think You Can Dance contest in Finland (TV show), earning the title Finland’s Most Popular Dancer. Sam joined Phoenix Dance Theatre in 2013-2018 (Leeds UK). He then followed onto become a dancer and rehearsal director with SLATE contemporary dance company based in Shanghai China. He was formally educated in Dance, and is now studying Contemporary Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Lucas Orozco
Lucas Orozco, born in Madrid (1993), is a Glasgow based visual artist who graduated with a BA (Hons) Fine Art Photography from The Glasgow School of Art in 2021. As part of his practice he uses sculpture, film, painting and photography to explore modern taxonomy and its influence on the contemporary understanding of authenticity. He is interested in enquiring about the impact of the discovery of the New World, and how the necessity of a universal system of classification might have fostered the establishment of a canon still sustained by institutional bodies heir of colonial power structures, such as the museum and the academia.
Eirini Kalogera
Eirini Kalogera is a visual artist with a practice based on looking, observing; drawing inspiration from domestic objects and their formal qualities to reappropriate them to reach new meanings regarding the familiarity and purpose of their being. Along with art, she puts her creativity into art direction of film and photography, looking to create elaborate narratives, through acutely fusing the materiality of the medium (film/photography) with the physicality of the subject.
Craig Nixon
Craig Nixon is currently in his final year of studying for a BA Television at City of Glasgow College. He is interested in developing his career in the television and film industry, particularly in the departments of editing and cinematography. He recently worked alongside a team at COY16 to assist with the production and editing of their Global Youth Statement video. During lockdown Craig managed to shoot and edit a short apocalyptic film set in Cumbernauld called 99.3%. And in 2022 he has plans for another short film, a romantic drama set entirely in Glasgow called Last Night on Earth.
James Cockrell
James Cockrell is an American/Romanian Theatre and Filmmaker. He is currently based in Glasgow where he is exploring his passion for Movement, Clown and Mask through different mediums. James has been acting in professional and local theatre since ten years old. In Highschool and University his focus narrowed on Physical Theatre, Clown and Mask. Towards the end of his formal training he began to take on the role of director and producer more than performer. Since graduating from university, James has been busy writing, directing and producing short films while constantly looking to challenge the norms within Theatre and Film.
Franz Maggs
Franz Maggs is a Glasgow based fashion designer and artist who creates bespoke garments for clients and fashion-based art installations. Franz studied Art and Design at Dumfries and Galloway College and followed onto graduate with a BA(Hons) Fashion Design from the Glasgow School of Art in 2017. He worked in the costume departments of two films, Outlaw King, a major Netflix production in which he made costumes for the principle cast and Bunny, a short independent film in which he assisted with the sourcing and selection of costumes. Franz describes his style as “morbid glamour” and enjoys taking the dark elements from novels, films, folklore and art and combining them with the glamorous exaggerated silhouettes from the past.
Michelle Watson
Michelle Watson has been in the creative industry for over 20 years. She started out as a makeup artist within the film industry in London and became a makeup designer in this field where she designed 14 feature films amongst other commercials, music videos and television work. Within her creative field she changed direction and started designing avant-garde headpieces, masks and accessories working with prestigious and international clients. This led onto starting a new career in fashion styling and creative direction. She has been represented by GEMS Agency and currently represented by Crew Network.
Paul Docherty
Paul Docherty is a violinist in his third year of study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under the tutelage of Professor Andrea Gajic. Since studying at the RCS he has benefited from masterclasses with Nicola Benedetti, Midori, David Watkin and Catherine Lord. Awards include the Convenor’s Award for Excellence in Performing Arts, the Mary D Adams Prize for Chamber Music, the St Mungo Challenge Trophy Certificate and the Grace Dick Memorial Prize after winning first place in the Concerto, Solo and Premier Classes at the Glasgow Music Festival. Paul has performed as concerto soloist with the Telemann Ensemble and will perform with Glasgow Sinfonia in May 2022. As a keen advocate for music education, Paul is chair of the MEPG Youth Forum and is an Ambassador at the Benedetti Foundation.
Oscar Prentice-Middleton
Oscar Prentice-Middleton is an artist living and working in Glasgow. Graduating with a BA(Hons) Fine Art Photography (2013) the following years saw them working closely with audio before collaborative work encouraged a reengagement with their own visual practice. They graduated with an M(Des) Sound for the Moving Image (2021) and their practice incorporates sound, animation and film. Working in this overlap has continued to foster a preference for collaborative projects where the iteration of conversation, problem solving and play lead to their favourite work. “Dues ex Machina” (2017. Civic Rooms. Katrina Valle, Selma Hreggvi›sdóttir, Rose Stachniewska); “Dances Our Enemies Taught Us” (2017.
Nina Candido (Loaned jewellery collection for production)
Nina Candido graduated with a BA(Hons) Silversmithing and Jewellery from the Glasgow School of Art in 2021. Having a Brazilian heritage, her exposure to carnival from a young age has directly informed a passion for theatrical jewellery and wearable sculpture. The performative and narrative potential of jewellery, combined with an exploration of experimental fabrication techniques are central to her recent collections. The overall intention is to explore the cinematic and theatrical possibilities of jewellery by generating work that tells a story in a playful and sometimes mischievous manner.