All the fun of the Unfair

A new art installation comes to Leeds next week which explores our approach to and relationship with grief and bereavement.

Interactive, entertaining and life-affirming The Unfair will be at Abbey Walk in Kirkstall from Tuesday to Sunday to coincide with Dying Matters Week and is free to attend.

An immersive world from acclaimed artist and performance maker, Ellie Harrison The Unfair allows visitors to let off steam and release their anger – and there is plenty to be angry about in the world today – through a selection of specially created and artistically curated fun and games from ‘angry Jenga’ to ‘passive- aggressive note writing’ via ‘boxing karaoke’.

The fourth part of The Grief Series, a series of enjoyable installations and artworks based around the seven stages of grief, The Unfair has been conceived by Harrison in collaboration with artists Adam Young, a performer from Leeds and professional performance designer Bethany Wells and was first performed to audiences at Bradford Festival and at The Junction, Goole in 2015.

Created to help people work through issues surrounding anger, irrespective of whether in direct relation to loss, The Unfair features seven distinctive ‘stalls’, each offering audiences a contrasting approach to taking out their frustrations. Visitors can, for example, ‘Let off steam’ in the company of a punchbag and their favourite angry song, or literally ‘Bottle it up’ by writing down their most personal feelings which are then bottled, sealed and kept in a vault, never to be read or opened again – completely without judgement.

Each stage in The Grief Series takes a distinct form and Harrison works with different artists and specialists to ensure there is an authenticity and originality to each piece. Harrison’s work through stages one to three have been consistently well received, by critics and audiences, as well as by professionals. Audiences of The Unfair when it was performed in 2015 commented that it was ‘Better than therapy!’, with many realising for the first time that they were angry or quite how much they ‘needed’ the catharsis provided by The Unfair.

“I always set out to make projects that give people the space they need to react to loss,” says Harrison. “And I’ve found that by creating work where people are listened to and engaged with through humour I am able to diffuse the often upsetting, or angry, emotions that surround loss. In The Unfair Adam, Bethany and I have designed a space where participants are encouraged to turn any anger they feel from a destructive force into an empowering one, and as the last year has offered many reasons for each and every one of us to feel exasperated, I hope that audiences enjoy all that the performances have to offer and leave The Unfair enlightened and unburdened.”

The Unfair is an original and engaging opportunity for people to channel any negative perceptions and feelings surrounding death into a more positive energy that can be used in a more productive way. Professionals working in the field have found The Grief Series to be valuable in their practice and Harrison has performed at conferences and trade events, engaging directly with those dealing with death and bereavement in their working lives.

Abbey Walk, Kirkstall, Leeds, May 9-14. Part of Dying Matters Awareness Week.