TISSUE. a film by Nicola Tyson | Bertie Marshall

Video (18:40): TISSUE. a film by Nicola Tyson | Bertie Marshall, 1984 | 18:42 mins | Super 8. Silent. Nicola and Bertie are queer artists and have been friends and sometime collaborators for 40 years.

TISSUE. a film by Nicola Tyson | Bertie Marshall
1984 | 18:42 mins | Super 8. Silent. | Commissioned for Fat Out Fest 2021
Funded & supported by: Arts Council England, PRS Foundation, Islington Mill, Soundhaus Productions.

Description of the film: ‘Shot on Super 8 by fine artist, Nicola Tyson, sometime in London in 1984… A beautiful, androgenous boy – the performer/ writer Bertie Marshall, wearing a white Deljba (Marshall was coming out of a drug psychosis during the filming of this section) is seen ripping up tissue paper in a basement / cell / asylum? using strings of saliva, he attaches strips of tissue paper to the ceiling of his confinement …he then destroys his creation …blackout …

Next in an Orchard on a beautiful spring afternoon, Boy Bertie is wandering about looking for something lost – forgotten?

He communes with shrubbery, lies before a smouldering fire, a compost heap, he dances with a tree branch… Then as in a dream, we see a figure in the far distance, walking, staggering along train tracks, heading out of a tunnel … coming from the light into darkness…

NICOLA TYSON & BERTIE MARSHALL
Nicola and Bertie are queer artists and have been friends and sometime collaborators for 40 years. Nicola featured as part of Bertie’s band ‘Behaviour Red’ (1980-1984) playing violin, zither and odd backing vocals and features on his just released compilation album ‘Exhibit’ (upset the rhythm records) of spoken word tracks and songs from 1981-1994.

FAT OUT FEST
Fat Out Fest is the annual flagship event of Salford-based promoters Fat Out, a passionate champion of the underground cultural scene. As a promoter and festival they are dedicated to discovering new music and producing captivating live shows for both artist and audience alike. The result is a combination of challenging, intense, experimental and downright rowdy music.’ – published by Fat Out, 2021.

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