Co-curated with independent curator Gemma Lloyd
Shown at RAMM in Exeter from 11 February 2023 to 7 May 2023
Through the work of eight contemporary artists, this specially curated exhibition for RAMM explored the emotional, spiritual and otherworldly connections to nature and our entanglement with it. Earth Spells: Witches of the Anthropocene responded to RAMM’s collections, specifically the Dartmoor Cauldron, once owned by the self-identified ‘White Witch of Dartmoor’ Elizabeth Webb. The ‘Anthropocene’ is a new, currently proposed, definition of geological time from the 1950s to now, where human activity has had significant impact on the planet’s ecosystems.
Many of the artists were informed by artistic practices that reconnect with and share a respect for nature and ecological knowledge inspired by indigenous practices. In all the artworks there’s a recognition for the strangeness, or what many writers are describing as the ‘uncanny’ in the unfolding climate drama.
Artists Emma Hart, Grace Ndiritu, Florence Peake and Lucy Stein were commissioned to create new work in response to RAMM’s collections. Other works on display included a Jacquard tapestry and drawings by Kiki Smith; a hand-tufted rug by Caroline Achaintre; Mercedes Mühleisen’s video installation Lament of Fruitless HEN; and the sculpture Baubo Dance by Kris Lemsalu.
Earth Spells encouraged visitors to remember that we too are part of nature.
Press coverage included Arts Culture, The Guardian , The Arts Desk, Katy Hessel’s newsletter
Lara Goodband - contemporary art 