'A whistling woman, a crowing hen' draws inspiration from both Deptford X’s history and an encounter at St Alban’s Cathedral where Gent witnessed an organist rehearsing a song on headphones. Struck by the partial spectacle of this private performance in a public space, Gent came to understand the long history of Deptford X through the same lens. As the years have passed, the history has grown and thousands of performances, conversations and encounters have happened as part of the festival. However, the full extent of these remain ungraspable from a present standpoint, with only listings, maps and documentation remaining.

'A whistling woman, a crowing hen' consciously adds to this history of art work on Deptford soil and replicates a fleeting, private experience. The work is centred around a filmed performance of musicians Charles Hayward and Rubie performing electric drums and electric piano on headphones in Deptford Creek at low tide, heard only by each other. They are improvising around the folk song ‘Just as the Tide Was A-Flowing’, which tells the tale of a tryst between a woman and a sailor in the early morning by the banks of a river. The song includes the line; “we’ll never know what they spoke”, which accords with the partial spectacle of 'A whistling woman, a crowing hen' and the history of Deptford X art works of which it is now part. Conscious of the precarious balance, evidenced in the festival’s history, between artists and urban development, Gent sought to produce a work that left minimal traces. Keen not to disrupt the wildlife of the Creek, or the human geography of Deptford, the filmed performance takes place quietly, at dawn, before the city wakes.

The installation in the gallery offered a glimpse into that morning performance in the mud of Deptford Creek. Through recreations of unattributed art works found in Deptford X’s photographic archives, it also pays tribute to the obscured history of the artists whose practices make up the dense history of the festival.

Drums: Charles Hayward
Keyboard: Rubie
Cameras: Rebecca Lennon
Production assistance: Paige Murphy

Special thanks to Creekside Discovery Centre, Leon Dee, Beth Bramich, Ufuoma Essi, Joseph Noonan-Ganley and all at Hospitalfield.

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/37372