An Endless Journey By Mark Elsdon

Description

An Endless Journey of Absolutely Predictable Outcome

An evocative and memorable performance piece that blurs the line between mentalism, storytelling and art...

This incredible piece of storytelling mentalism features a myriorama* by Tom Gauld inspired by the works of Laurence Sterne. Twelve picture cards which can be arranged to form 479,001,600 different landscapes.

The twelve beautiful picture cards are examined and mixed and then a participant chooses the exact order in which he wants to place the cards to create a random landscape and totally unique (479,001,600 different possibilities!) story. The performer gives the participant a personal reading based upon his choices before directing the participant’s attention to a sheet of paper which is inside the envelope that the box of cards was in. This sheet is obviously torn from a book, and impossibly it describes the exact landscape the participant has randomly created! He is given this paper as a souvenir of both the reading and the experience.

This powerful new routine is available in very limited quantity. It comes complete with the beautiful packet of picture cards (please see the photo below), the prediction paper (plus templates to print your own predictions if you want to give them away, which you should!), and very detailed instructions on the full routine and accompanying reading.

Myriorama cards - 16cm x 7cm

**Background Notes: A Myriorama, or 'Many Thousand Views' consist of numerous cards depicting fragments or segments of landscapes that can be arranged in a multitude of different combinations. This 'entertainment' for young ladies and gentlemen originated in France. The first English version in 1824 was a set of 16 cards which depicted Gothic ruins, castles, cottages, a lighthouse, a man fishing and a gypsy encampment. These landmarks had a backdrop of mountains with islands and a lake to add extra texture and depth.
Whenever the cards were taken out and arranged upon a table, they produced a landscape of harmony which was variable, compatible and satisfying to the user without being geographically identifiable. This first myriorama seems to have been an instant success and many varieties were created to satisfy the demands of the public.

The newly commissioned contemporary myriorama by Tom Gauld has many references to Laurence Sterne's writings and contains incidents and characters that may be familiar to the reader. He has ordered his drawings to allow an almost limitless variety of Sternean encounters to take place.