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Rewilding my creativity

If you get stuck, sit by something moving in nature, like a stream of water, and you will get moving again, and many more nuggets of wisdom!

An 8 week online course, Rewilding Mythology, hosted by Sophie Strand, by Advaya.

What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
— Gerard Manley Hopkins

I joined and attended this hugely inspiring, richly rewarding and creatively uplifting course that started by throwing participants in at the deep end of intellectual thought. The speakers said so much in each sentence, it was hard to follow at first. As I got used to the language and into the flow of thought, it began to stir the imagination, and frame many of my interests in ecologically connected ways. This course was about the now, how we got here and where we are headed, but ultimately motivating us to work out what to do about it.

“When you’re in the woods, follow the sound. See where it leads you. Hold up your hands, cup your ear, listen.”

- Josh Schrei, Week 2.

Politically radical, topics such as the science fiction of Ursula Le Guin, and other lesser known writers, merged with how we, as creatives, can approach our surroundings in new and ancient ways, and listen to what nature wants us to create. It was an interconnected, holistic and alternative whirlwind of where science meets spirituality, and where humans connect to the natural around and inside.

The speakers were artists of different disciplines, spoken, visual and musical, intellectuals, scientists and thinkers, mythologists and storytellers, talking about their own experiences of doing things differently in their own fields, giving plenty of ideas to participants and involving them in discussions with questions at the end of each session. Sophie Strand, the host and writer, eloquently and intelligently steered the talks in thought-provoking ways.

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Looking for inspiration: Part 3

Inventive photographic processes at an exhibition about Neo-Pictorialism at the RPS in Bristol, gave me some ideas…

“Neo-Pictorialism has an emphasis on the aesthetic and embraces the other-worldly. It is a direct and positive reaction to the digital age and new technologies.  Photoshop, scanners and printers all greatly assist in the creation of the digital negative, enabling twenty-first century photographers and artists to make traditional photographic prints using historic process and technique.”

Squaring the Circles of Confusion, curated by Zelda Cheatle, at RPS House, Bristol. 2022

In this exhibition I discovered two photographers, David George who took some atmospheric night shots in natural surroundings, which of course I was drawn to, and Susan Derges, whose work was presented beautifully and unusually, and combined natural elements in a way that held the gaze. Ideally I’d like to present my work in a stylish way too, so it gave me some ideas about exhibiting my work. But first I’d have to complete it.

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The Forest and the EcoGothic

How and why have forests been depicted as dark, scary places for so long? This book has the answers, and shows the way to move forward…

“Robert Harrison, in his seminal work Forests: The Shadow of Civilisation (1992), mourns the widespread loss of our connection to the woods, arguing that we now see them as mere setting and resource. We have largely lost the ability, it seems, to see them as truly strange, monstrous, and enchanting.”

Elizabeth Parker, The Forest and the EcoGothic: The Deep Dark Woods in the Popular Imagination (p. 5; Palgrave MacMillan, 2021)

On my trip to photograph Sherwood Forest, due to the historical and mythical tales of Robin Hood, and also as one of the largest collections of ancient oaks in Europe, I started reading The Forest and the EcoGothic, and it had a profound effect, particularly on my vision for my final project. It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.

In this book, which focuses on the darker, scarier side of depictions of forests, Elizabeth Parker reiterates some of the points Harrison made in Forests. Parker says that people's fascination with the romanticised concept of forests reflects their sense of loss and the significance of forests to them, and is symbolic of a variety of emotions and situations, including danger, renewal, and bewilderment. She explains the literature on forest mythologies is vast, and Gothic depictions of forests in stories may be the result of innate fears and fears created in stories. During environmental crises, Parker argues for seeking out ‘Gothic Nature’, as well as ‘Romantic Nature’, because it brings an important darkness of nature worth embracing.

When I started reading this, I had just taken some shots that would open up a new way of portraying trees to me, that fit in superbly with the Gothic and Romantic, by evoking the ‘sublime.’

“In a broader sense, The Forest and the EcoGothic significantly examines our representations of and relationship to nonhuman Nature. It does so in a time when understanding—and questioning—this relationship is more vital than ever before.”

(p. 3; Parker, 2021)


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Looking for inspiration: Part 2

England on Fire: A Visual Journey Through Albion’s Psychic Landscape, is a stunning piece of curation from Stephen Ellcock.

After seeing In The Black Fantastic next door, I wandered into the Haywood Gallery shop and had a browse. I spotted this book, now one of the best art books I own, and immediately it felt entirely relevant for my research and also a complete joy in its diversity and depth of content. These are just a handful of artists I found through this book, named in the captions when you view full size. They each seemed to fit the mood I wanted to go for, having long been interested in wooded scenes in moody low light. I have since followed Stephen Ellcock on Facebook, where he regularly posts evocative discoveries, and have since collected his next book, The Cosmic Dance, proving himself to be a hot curator to follow.

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Looking for inspiration: Part 1

In The Black Fantastic was a stunning exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in 2022!

While I was on a short trip to London, I visited In The Black Fantastic at the Haywood Gallery, as the retelling of mythology in fantasy, and science fiction visions from the perspective of the contemporary African diaspora held strong appeal to get ideas for my own retelling of mythology, as well as to marvel at the colourful and inventive exhibits.

Enjoying many of the different takes on show, this is just a small selection of my snap happy captures, the work of Sedrick Chisom with his retelling of mythology and the legacy of racism stopped me in my tracks. And even more powerfully the art of Ellen Gallagher, colourful and stunning depictions of some of the most heart-rendering horrors of the Transatlantic slave trade intertwined with the undersea natural world.

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