The Artist Explains: Orla Gartland - 'Inevitable'
Orla Gartland talks us through her home-video styled visuals for ‘Inevitable’, which documents the breakdown of a marriage and how it affects family life when children are involved.
Where was the video for 'Inevitable' filmed?
There were 2 locations - the director Guy Larsen’s house where we shot the home scenes in the kitchen and a school in West London where we shot the footage of the recital.
How does the video connect with the song?
Our video plot connected with the main lyric “maybe it’s inevitable, but this just isn’t fun anymore”. I wrote the song about a failing relationship but having a video about a couple felt so done - so we reimagined the lyric in the context of a family, with a daughter involved who was caught in the middle of it all.
Any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
Originally I was cast as the Mum, but I decided to be a more peripheral character and let the actors bring the story to life, so in the end I was the music teacher, appearing briefly in the recital scene with the ugliest/most amazing jumper you’ve ever seen.
Can you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
The imagery surrounding the rest of my 'Why am I like this?' EP was based on one’s awkward formative years, so we wanted there to be a nostalgic 90s feel to the video - we shot it all on the director Guy's Dad's old tape camcorder to give it that feel. Guy shot some of it on the day but David, our Dad shot a lot of it himself. I think having David hold it and direct Rosa & Eleanor (our mum and daughter) is what really gave the video the immersive, chaotic feel of a real home video.
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
In this family the deteriorating relationship between the two parents begins to really affect the daughter, who ultimately is aware of everything that's going on and eventually breaks down because of it. Guy and I wanted to explore the dynamic of a couple on the edge and the ripple effect it has on those around them, and how complicated it must feel to have others to consider.
Interview feature by Karla Harris