Mr and Mrs Clark are Gareth Clark and Marega Palser. They have been making performances for many years in a variety of unusual spaces and places. Their art aims to create events that bring people together, always with a DIY ethic and a keen interest to reflect the current state of their environment.
In 2013 Gareth was working in New York. Via social media he witnessed the destruction of The Chartist Mural, a popular piece of public art in Newport. Marega was there, participating in the demonstration to express anger at the handling of this iconic depiction. The Chartists uprising in 1839 eventually led to some level of equality across the UK. Gareth and Marega’s viewpoints of the demolition created an exchange of ideas that further led to collaboration with artists Steven George Jones and Andrew Rock, also known as Bosch. Smash It Up is the culmination of a series of street performance events that were aimed to keep the loss of art and public space firmly in the minds of the people. It is also an exploration of the destruction of art by regimes and orders keen to suppress freedom of expression and how artists have used destruction. Including dance, theatre and film Smash It Up was shorlisted for Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015.
Age Guide: 14+ due to some strong language