Beneath Clouded Hills
“That I may awake Albion from its long and cold repose…”
– from Jerusalem, William Blake.
Multimedia installation & Podcast series Bloc Projects Sheffield, 19th May– 17th June 2023.
Supported by Arts Council England, Bloc Projects and Office for Contemporary Art Norway
Read the Press Release here.
Listen to the Podcast series here
A magical day of events took place on the 20th May. Our programme invited practitioners to collectively re-imagine what 'England' is by sharing ways of knowing that are guided by landscape, identity, place, spirituality, folklore and mythology.
Featuring discussions, musical performances, screenings and somatic exercises, the event investigated the term 'Deep England' by feeling-thinking alongside other cultural practitioners who foreground inclusivity, the radical imaginary and more-than-human forces in their work. It offered a chance to collectively reconsider an earthier, more capacious England in a specially facilitated setting.
Guest speakers included nature writer Richard Smyth (People of the Soil, Verso) and writer, broadcaster and DJ Zakia Sewell (My Albion, BBC Radio 4). Listen below for a recording of the discussion.
Beneath Clouded Hills began over two years ago as a Harsh Light conversation that explored a more critical and inclusive ‘Englishness’ through feminist art practice, archaeology, mythology, imagination and more-than-human connections. Since then, artists Una Hamilton Helle and Verity Birt have been co-developing this work closely with the support of Bloc Projects, with a midpoint research period at Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire.
Geographically, Creswell Crags lies roughly in the ‘heart’ of England. The caves have a unique concentration of archaeological activity indicating multi-species inhabitance by hyenas, mammoths, Neanderthals and Homosapiens spanning thousands of years. It also features Britain's only surviving ice-age art, including 13,000 year old rock carvings and the largest collection of apotropaic witch marks.
Working with collective voice, improvisation, archive, film and sound, the artists tunnel deep under England’s surface in search of a more mythic, eerie and enchanted land. By listening to and collaborating with the site as a living body, the project reflects on a more ancient and earthy ‘England’ that transcends borders and nostalgic tropes of green, rolling hills bathed in eternal summer. After Brexit, is there scope to reimagine our landscapes, turn them into more inclusive and radically open possibilities?
Una’s and Verity’s response can be found in this project, which includes turning the gallery into a dim, nether space filled with (un)familiar sonic and visual textures. By rooting one's senses otherwise, Beneath Clouded Hills re-embodies the heart of England with all its leaky, porous potentials.
– from Jerusalem, William Blake.
Multimedia installation & Podcast series Bloc Projects Sheffield, 19th May– 17th June 2023.
Supported by Arts Council England, Bloc Projects and Office for Contemporary Art Norway
Read the Press Release here.
Listen to the Podcast series here
A magical day of events took place on the 20th May. Our programme invited practitioners to collectively re-imagine what 'England' is by sharing ways of knowing that are guided by landscape, identity, place, spirituality, folklore and mythology.
Featuring discussions, musical performances, screenings and somatic exercises, the event investigated the term 'Deep England' by feeling-thinking alongside other cultural practitioners who foreground inclusivity, the radical imaginary and more-than-human forces in their work. It offered a chance to collectively reconsider an earthier, more capacious England in a specially facilitated setting.
Guest speakers included nature writer Richard Smyth (People of the Soil, Verso) and writer, broadcaster and DJ Zakia Sewell (My Albion, BBC Radio 4). Listen below for a recording of the discussion.
Beneath Clouded Hills began over two years ago as a Harsh Light conversation that explored a more critical and inclusive ‘Englishness’ through feminist art practice, archaeology, mythology, imagination and more-than-human connections. Since then, artists Una Hamilton Helle and Verity Birt have been co-developing this work closely with the support of Bloc Projects, with a midpoint research period at Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire.
Geographically, Creswell Crags lies roughly in the ‘heart’ of England. The caves have a unique concentration of archaeological activity indicating multi-species inhabitance by hyenas, mammoths, Neanderthals and Homosapiens spanning thousands of years. It also features Britain's only surviving ice-age art, including 13,000 year old rock carvings and the largest collection of apotropaic witch marks.
Working with collective voice, improvisation, archive, film and sound, the artists tunnel deep under England’s surface in search of a more mythic, eerie and enchanted land. By listening to and collaborating with the site as a living body, the project reflects on a more ancient and earthy ‘England’ that transcends borders and nostalgic tropes of green, rolling hills bathed in eternal summer. After Brexit, is there scope to reimagine our landscapes, turn them into more inclusive and radically open possibilities?
Una’s and Verity’s response can be found in this project, which includes turning the gallery into a dim, nether space filled with (un)familiar sonic and visual textures. By rooting one's senses otherwise, Beneath Clouded Hills re-embodies the heart of England with all its leaky, porous potentials.
