Selected music creator for the 2023 Picture Gallery Composer-in-Residence Scheme

About the installation piece

My piece is made in response to the statue of Erinna which stands in the courtyard outside the Picture Gallery, made by Henry Stormonth Leifchild in 1860.

Erinna was a Greek poet who lived in the 4th Century BCE. Erinna is still known today for her legendary 300-line poem ‘The Distaff’. The poem is a lament for her childhood friend, Baucis, who married and appears to have forgotten about Erinna, who later learns Baucis has died.

The poem became famous because other Greek and Roman writers had noted its power and genius. The full text of the poem is unfortunately long lost. In 1928, fragments of the poem were discovered among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri and were pieced together to form parts of 54 lines of Erinna’s poem.

My piece is formed of a text composed using the gist of translations of the fragments of Erinna’s poem, and field recordings I made in and around both the Picture Gallery and the statue of Erinna. I also used some samples from the BBC Sound Archive.

The composition is intended to honour Erinna’s grief through the fragmentation, loss and partial rediscovery of her words. To bring partial echoes and fragments of Erinna’s spirit from centuries ago into the Picture Gallery is to suggest only that she is not alone: grief and loss are common and so much more so in recent times on Earth.

I am honoured and grateful to have been chosen for the incredible experience of producing a piece of work in response to the rich and interesting collection in the Picture Gallery. I thank Nathan James Dearden, Thomas Baynes and the staff of the Picture Gallery for facilitating it and making it easy.

I also owe thanks to Dr Will Montgomery in the RHU English Department for his expert advice on field recording and editing, to my fellow MA student Sabirin Osoble for recording a reading of my text and for her kindness and support, and to my colleague Wieke Wicks for her support.

About Johnny

Johnny Dixon is studying at Royal Holloway University for the MA in Creative Writing, following the Poetic Practice pathway. Johnny is a graduate of Manchester University with a joint honours degree in English and Religious Studies. He also has a post graduate diploma in Law. He studied painting and drawing at St Martins.

Johnny was a founding member and the rhythm section of the legendary post-rock group Frank Blood. He is a regular contributor of spoken word pieces to the Glasgow Art Radio station Radiophrenia. Johnny is Irish.