LensCulture Earth Awards 2015: Editor's Selection
“The images hold a unique space in photography” Lens Culture
In Numinous, I evoke visual folk magic with votive rags removed from a Cornish sacred well. In the traditional healing ritual, clothing acts as a votive offering. Torn from a person’s garment where the body ails, the cloth or ‘cloutie’ is dipped into the well then hung on a nearby tree; as the fabric falls and rots, the illness vanishes. Some people leave ritual deposits that will not biodegrade, which are removed from the site. I animate the discarded clothes with water, air, earth and fire. My photographs scrutinise tangible states of transformation with each element. On close scrutiny, mysterious forms appear in the images, opening possible ideas about the wishes and the sacred.
Exhibition commissioned by Forty Hall & Estate, London Borough of Enfield, supported by Heritage Lottery Fund and Metro Imaging. Numinous was on show at Forty Hall from 8 April - 22 July 2015.
With thanks to the Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network (CASPN), a charitable partnership formed to look after the ancient sites and monuments of Cornwall. CASPN works in close collaboration with local communities and official organisations to protect and promote our ancient heritage landscape through research, education and outreach activities.
