Romeo and Juliet are the world's definitive 'Star Crossed Lovers'. But you've never seen them like this.... Kerry Darlington gives her own insights and interpretation to Romeo and Juliet in her incredible Unique Edition. Wyecliffe Galleries' Ben and Anthony were invited to see it take shape....
Kerry's Influences: Shakespeare to Yeats
Whilst filming Kerry in her studio Anthony asked Kerry to explain her influences and inspiration behind Romeo & Juliet:
"It's actually inspired by 3 separate subjects.
Romeo and Juliet as Star Crossed Lovers but
It doesn't actually focus on the tragedy at all,
it's more on the love between the couple.
Secondly is Klimpt's 'The Kiss' which is one of my favourite paintings,
I love the composition of 'The Kiss' it's really tender and loving,
so i wanted to put my Romeo and Juliet into a similar embrace
and I wanted it to have a similar feeling and atmosphere.
The other influence was a poem by my favourite poet William Butler Yeats......
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
You can paint the poem in your head the words
are so vivid, that's where the idea of the nebula
and constellations come from, It almost paints the picture for you."
The Unique Edition Process
Filming this video was an incredible experience: Anthony and Ben particularly enjoyed filming Kerry applying the resin in Kerry's specialty facility in the North Wales studio - you can see the results in the video - and you can even order your own Romeo & Juliet Edition here.