Monster Chetwynd is well known for her practice combining performance, sculpture, painting, installation and video. Her works take iconic moments from cultural history (folk tales, literature, popular culture) as starting points for immersive creations, components which are then filtered through to form energetic new narratives. These pieces are imbued with social and political histories, using techniques of theatre to restage and represent moments.

In her large-scale performances and installations, Chetwynd also invites groups of performers to collaboratively make handmade costumes, props and sets. She describes the work as ‘impatiently made’, using easily accessible materials such as cotton wool and kitchen roll to build large-scale environments. Collaboration is key, with performers emphasising the collective action and spontaneity that informs so much of her output.

Chetwynd is set to launch her new work, Moths, at Mount Stuart on the Isle Of Bute, addressing the global climate emergency through a series of sculptures, works on paper, and a new film made with Glasgow-based artist Margaret Salmon. For the commission, she will also be recycling a previous work, ‘Folding House’ (2011), which will be remade into Moth Hub; this space is to be used in collaboration with volunteers at Bute Museum & Natural History Society, who currently use the grounds for regular moth counts. 

‘It is such a rich fruitcake of history and there is such showmanship of the decorative arts, I just thought, “how can I add to this?”’ says Chetwynd of Mount Stuart. ‘I soon realised that I preferred being outside the house; I was very drawn to the ferns, the large gunnera which looks almost alien. When I was walking out there I got caught by a small sign; it was a poster for the moth count, where they collect moths at night and count them. I asked for more information and when Morven Gregor [Mount Stuart curator] sent through pictures of the moths, I was blown away.’

Chetwynd was especially taken by their ‘fluffy faces’ and the varied types such as the pink elephant hawk moth (‘a triangle shape, like a Harrier bomber’), the ermine moth, and the tiger garden moth (‘it has developed anti-radar to interrupt bats and has its own clicking ability’). Chetwynd has previously spoken of her work focusing on the underdog, an idea which fits well with these insects. ‘Moths are so unknown and yet have thousands of species; the butterfly is only a sub-group of moth. It just seemed to chime with that thing of the neglected nocturnal creature, which people don’t bother to learn about. I made replicas of them which are used for the parade [featuring performer guides and local schoolchildren] and will then exist as sculptures within the house for this exhibition.’ 

One of Chetwynd’s key motivations for this new work was to spread a little magic around, and to bring out something of the magical within this impressive venue. In the house is a bookcase behind which lives a winding staircase that leads to a room at the top. ‘During the filming we used the door like a character,’ she recalls. ‘The moth handlers went through it which felt like a direct way to connect and bring nature and magic into the house. It’s perhaps more about knowing than anticipating magic. It’s more transparent; it’s about making a decision.’ 

The project is also about creating a group consensus in that idea of the magical or surreal. Everyone involved in the making of Moths acknowledges that what is being created is an illusion, but there is also a joyous escapism and disconnect from the day-to-day. ‘The thing I find really hard is that sometimes you don’t know what you’re doing at the beginning,’ states Chetwynd. ‘You turn up with the ingredients and a lot of goodwill and energy, but you get so much from that group agreement. I always have faith but it is the people who come and participate that bring so much. It is this not-knowing and conjuring together where the best things happen.’ 

The artist notes that escaping our own selves and being part of a connected different state helps create a contemplative, playful space which then leads to a desire for learning. None of this happens by chance, of course, and Chetwynd’s hands-on approach to research can have a crucial knock-on effect for the audience. ‘I really get over-excited about research; I have this thing about fan culture. I really enjoy people like Fred Dibnah [the late steeplejack and TV personality], those that have a natural enthusiasm for their subject matter and history. A friend actually put me down as an enthusiast, and I’ve realised that this is exactly what I am. I feel like this is definitely an aspect of the way I plunge around in research with totally over-enthusiastic enthusiasm.’

Monster Chetwynd: Moths, Mount Stuart, Isle Of Bute, Saturday 10 June–Sunday 20 August.