Chorus for a full moon is a collaborative artwork between Clare Charles and Jessica Akerman. It was performed on the eve of the full moon on 27 August 2026 at Tinside West, Plymouth, with 37 Looe Street, Seaweed in the Fruitlocker choir, and members of the public.

The piece is comprised of versions of two songs, which have each been borrowed and adapted through different musical eras.

The first is Lay Me Low, a Traditional Marcher funeral song, that was later popularised in the 1970s folk revival by the Albion Band. The oral tradition of folk music means songs are reinterpreted, reworked, and communicated in the singer’s unique way, and although written records of music and lyrics exist, it is this shared culture of folk songs upon which the artists draw. 

The lyrics of Black Flag’s 1981 punk anthem Rise Above are a countercultural rebellion against conservative social structures. In 2007, American indie band Dirty Projectors recorded Rise Above (and the entire Damaged album it’s taken from) from memory, slightly misplacing lyrics, and reinventing the melody; not dissimilar to the folk tradition.

Although neither song relates directly to swimming or the sea, they evoke the repetition of the sea’s motion, the desire for solace and solitude, and the coming together out of adversity.

To accompany the performance, Clare and Jessica have made a broadside; a type of song sheet which accompanies Traditional folk or popular songs in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Traditional broadside motifs of lyrics and illustrations, are combined with the water-based printing technique of marbling, and riso printing, the cheap mass production print format that evokes the DIY punk zine aesthetic. The two parts of the song sheet are held by Jessica’s steel hand brackets, a nod to the idea of being held, and the power of performing communally.