Ordinary Mayhem by Victoria Brownworth

Author:Victoria Brownworth [Brownworth, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626393196
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2015-01-21T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Four

Installation

The gallery looked perfect. The bottle-green velvet drape on the front window was pulled across. It would be pulled back only after the gallery opened at seven. In the window, centered in front of the drape, was the poster that Persia had done for the show. It was the photograph of the bodies of the children in the morgue in Fresno, with the maggots, along with Faye’s name and the name of the show, Ordinary Mayhem, and the gallery and the dates. The photo was black and white and the titles were in a dark blood-red—Persia’s idea, naturally. That this was the least disturbing of the photos in the show struck Faye as she walked into the gallery. There were small programs printed up in a stack with the same image on them, and inside, a statement by Faye about the content of the show and the meaning of the work.

Faye had hung everything herself early that very morning. She had asked that Nick and Persia not be there and they had agreed. A long red satin drape had been strung across the photos on each side of the gallery on a little pulley. The drapes would be pulled away once everyone had arrived at the gallery. Faye had also arranged all the other pieces on the series of tables that Nick had provided for her. The tables were covered with pieces of velvet in a dark claret and black. Even Nick and Persia had not seen what was underneath. The show was going to surprise them as much as it would the public. Persia had wanted to see, but Nick, who always seemed permanently bored, was obviously excited by the idea that here was something that might stimulate his jaded palate.

At the back of the long room was a table with various canapés of the most chic New York kind. The bar stood at an angle to the food. It all looked splendid. There was a display of flowers in dark reds, with a series of rather frightening-looking greens that reminded Faye of Little Shop of Horrors.

“When do you want to take the drapes off the tables, Faye?” Persia was sleek and alien-looking in a tight, black silk Chinoise dress with impossibly high black platform shoes and one long black earring that dangled to her shoulder. She looked magnificent, and not for the first time, Faye thought perhaps she should have invited her home before this. After the show, Persia might not be as interested as she had seemed during the preparation.

“What do you think?” Faye asked. “Should we have an unveiling after people arrive or do it now, for you and Nick and the wait-staff and then cover everything over again? We have a half hour. What do you think? Do you think people will hear the screaming from here?” Faye didn’t laugh when she said this and she thought she saw Persia flinch involuntarily. For the first time, Faye felt apprehensive. She knew what was under the little drapes.

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