This installation of STEPHEN intentionally blurs the lines between fact and fiction to address urgent social issues of mental health, addictions and isolation, as well as the power of collective creativity.

The project reinterprets the true story of Thomas Goudie, a bank clerk at the Bank of Liverpool who was caught embezzling money to support his gambling addiction. Goudie’s arrest became the subject of the world’s first crime-reconstruction to camera: ‘The Arrest of Goudie’, by filmmakers Mitchell and Kenyon in Liverpool in 1901.

Manchot has worked with longstanding collaborator Stephen Giddings, who lends his name to the title of the film and plays the lead role. The work is made with a mixed cast of professional actors and local people from the recovery community. Stephen, who portrays both Goudie and himself, draws on his own experiences of addiction recovery in a story that entangles lived and acted realities.  Manchot has worked with the participants to showcase a selection of supporting footage within the installation, which foregrounds the production process, character development and cast relationships.

Production for STEPHEN began in 2019 with a series of workshops held in Liverpool with people in recovery and will culminate with screenings of the film in community settings with local stakeholders providing and engaging in addiction recovery services. Following Liverpool Biennial, the film will join the permanent collection of the Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool.

STEPHEN was commissioned by Liverpool Biennial.

Courtesy of the artist and Liverpool Biennial. Images by Stuart Whipps.