Installations by Ally Clarke - 2. Agony of Hope

In it's original form the 'Agony of Hope' installation took the viewer through various different rooms and included film and drawing, as well as constructed elements. In summary, the work made use of the tree as a symbol of life and paper aeroplanes as a vehicle of individuals' hopes. Clearly, in being restaged, the work would need to be adapted to the venue but anyone interested in hosting this installation should contact commission4mission to discuss arrangements and options with Ally Clarke.

‘The Agony of Hope’ is a state of being we may experience at some point in our lives - the hope of rescue from danger, despair or pain, awaiting the fulfilment of a promise, the longing for a lover, a child ...

This hope can be cyclical - a weighty burden that seems to drag all aspects of life down with it and at other times, invigorating and inspirational and fuel for determination.

The imagery in this installation includes:

• the tree; a symbol of life, safety, reliability and throwing from the tree - the launching and release of our hopes;
• tubes hover and marks are made by the tree’s twigs, charting our pathway through our landscape as we commit to moving on;
• a sense of being burdened by a dragging and painful load is suggested in the use of literal weights - writhing, dangling, twisting, stretching ... this state goes on until a final breaking through;
• branches - broken elements from the tree become something new, something we can climb on to move upward to an unknown but enticing future. Paper air-planes become vehicles of our hopes. Each plane is personal and either literally or metaphorically, has our hopes inscribed. As a paper air-plane is launched, unsure how the design and currents will affect its flight, we too launch and release our hopes, motivated by the prospect of our hopes coming to fruition and more.