Launching our 2019/20 season, we’re delighted to present Waking the Witch: Old Ways, New Rites – an exhibition looking at the importance of craft, ritual and land to the practice of the ever-shifting figure of the witch.
The British Isles have a particularly strong relationship to magic and the occult, with the chants of witchcraft echoing throughout their history. Traditional witchcraft has a strong connection to the earth, and an intimate knowledge of herbs, plants and the elements, as well as the human body. As gatekeepers to altered consciousness, witches have been both feared and sought out for their dealings with the unknown. Historically persecuted as an outsider, the witch has been taken on by artists as a challenging force to prevailing norms, and as a symbol of dissidence.
Looking to symbols, tools and the coven as a space for focusing collective intent, the artists in this exhibition explore the path of the witch as a way for us to connect with the earth and each other.
Ben Jeans Houghton will open the exhibition with an improvised performance, expressing aspects of his own magical practice through a harmonic voice and the spoken word, using repurposed effects pedals, loopers, ritual tools, and costume.
Installation view. Courtesy of the artists. Photo: Julian Lister.Ayesha Tan Jones, Whychcraft?, 2017. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Ayesha Tan Jones, Whychcraft?, 2017. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Fiona Finnegan and Candice Lin, installation view. Courtesy of the artists. Photo: Julian Lister.Selection of magazines. Courtesy of Rupert White and Legion Projects. Photo: Julian Lister.Nadine Byrne, Dream Family (costumes), 2011. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Katarzyna Majak, installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Verity Birt, Repeated again, exhoes linger, 2019. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Nadine Byrne, Book of Dream Family 3, 2011. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Fiona Finnegan, installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Lucy Stein, Polly, 2012. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Serena Korda, The Jug Choir, 2015 (detail). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Serena Korda, The Jug Choir, 2015 (detail). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Cathy Ward, Home Rites, 2009. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Cathy Ward, installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Museum of Witchcraft objects, installation view. Courtesy of Simon Costin. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Anna Bunting-Branch, installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Nadine Byrne, Dream Family, 2011. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Ben Jeans Houghton, Else Skyclad Lad, 2018. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Fourthland, Imbue, 2018. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.
Installation view. Courtesy of the artists. Photo: Julian Lister.Ayesha Tan Jones, Whychcraft?, 2017. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Ayesha Tan Jones, Whychcraft?, 2017. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Fiona Finnegan and Candice Lin, installation view. Courtesy of the artists. Photo: Julian Lister.Selection of magazines. Courtesy of Rupert White and Legion Projects. Photo: Julian Lister.Nadine Byrne, Dream Family (costumes), 2011. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Katarzyna Majak, installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Verity Birt, Repeated again, exhoes linger, 2019. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Nadine Byrne, Book of Dream Family 3, 2011. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Fiona Finnegan, installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Lucy Stein, Polly, 2012. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Serena Korda, The Jug Choir, 2015 (detail). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Serena Korda, The Jug Choir, 2015 (detail). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Cathy Ward, Home Rites, 2009. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Cathy Ward, installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Museum of Witchcraft objects, installation view. Courtesy of Simon Costin. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Anna Bunting-Branch, installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Nadine Byrne, Dream Family, 2011. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Ben Jeans Houghton, Else Skyclad Lad, 2018. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Fourthland, Imbue, 2018. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.
Exhibition Opening with Ben Jeans Houghton
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Luke Brennan.
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