THREAD AND WORD - A WALK WITH SHRINES 

AT THE MARGATE BOOKIE 

A final posting about A Walk with Shrines. Elaina Arkeooll  reflects on her Ofrenda' Blue Beard's box', Guy Debord and The Book of Proverbs           

Elaina's words:

'Blue Beard's Box- a response to 'The Hoarder' by Jess Kidd 

The thread that winds from my practice to this show, and Elspeth’s, Ofrendas ' at Margate Bookie / Margate Festival, is cast outwards from ‘The Society of the Spectacle’ Guy Debord.

I share with Guy Debord the dubious reputation of committing a detournement with the wisdom of The Book of Proverbs 16 ;27-29  

²⁷ Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece.^[a]

²⁸ An evil man sows strife; gossip separates the best of friends.

²⁹ Wickedness loves company—and leads others into sin.^[b]

It might be said that a hoarder barricades the corporeal self within a fortress of things that all become, after the passage of time, and the weavery of cobwebs and whispers of settling dust, of equal weight and value.

The slightest disturbance to the accretions may prove fatal to the fragile reality the hoarder has constructed whereby to withstand the passage of time.

This is Bluebeard’s Box, occupied by remnants of a brassiere, white ankle socks, the collected dander of an electrician’s beard, saved for many months and saturated with the odour of nicotine, a random scrap of lurid nylon stuff, and 1.25mm enamelled copper wire, two or three strands of an 'cat gut' saturated with rosin........a box labelled Evidence addressed to Attilla the rest of the address redacted .......

It proposes that whitewashing never conceals stains without trace. It implicates the cleansing brush of revelation and the implications of exposure and the subsequent consequences.'

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 16:27 Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece, literally, “A worthless man devises mischief; and in his lips there is a scorching fire.”
2. Proverbs 16:29 Wickedness loves company—and leads others into sin, or “An evil man deceives his neighbor and leads him into loss.”

A Walk with Shrines was part of Margate Festival 2018:Now, which was funded by Turner Contemporary, Dreamland and Kent County Council.

WITH THANKS TO ANASTASIA MILLER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY.

A LINK BELOW. TO ANNA BOWMAN'S VIDEO WITH FOOTAGE OF PROCESSIONAL WALKING AND OF OFFERINGS CREATED TO FORM A LITURGY TO FOUR BOOKS BY FOUR AUTHORS AT THE AUTUMN BOOKIE IN MARGATE.




A WALK WITH SHRINES by Thread and Word from Anna Bowman on Vimeo.

Thread and Word - A Walk with Shrines 

At The Margate Bookie                               

Film maker Anna Bowman takes some time out from a busy filming schedule in Yorkshire to reflect on her experience of filming A Walk with Shrines in Margate.

"A WALK WITH SHRINES  - Anna Bowman

Earlier this year, when I interviewed Elspeth (Billie) as part of a short documentary about the exhibition Memories…There’s Always Tomorrow at the Gallery, St Pancras Hospital, in London she asked me if I’d be interested in filming a walk. I said yes, having no idea what it would involve.

It turned out to be an extraordinary experience Nine artists’ beautiful ofrendas (offerings) formed temporary shrines to stories and poems by four visiting authors at the Margate Bookie. The film celebrated the meditative walk Elspeth devised and led, with artists and other participants processing along the sea front, up the cliffs, to the Winter Garden and the War Memorial, then back to the Turner Contemporary Gallery.

Filming was a challenge.  My work is collaborative and usually filmed in galleries or at events where I have a quite a bit of control over what I film. Here there were the elements in full force – crashing waves, howling wind, some brilliant sun – all the seasons in Margate in two days. 

It was a wonderful collaboration with Elspeth and the artists who made the ofrendas. I was touched by everyone’s generosity, as some interviews and readings needed to be re-recorded as the sound of wind was over powering.  I asked Anastasia if she would film some of the walkers on 29^th, so we could see them from in front as well as from behind. I would love to collaborate with her in the future, if the opportunity arises."

A Walk with Shrines was part of Margate Festival 2018:Now, which was funded by Turner Contemporary, Dreamland and Kent County Council.

WITH THANKS TO ANASTASIA MILLER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY.

A LINK BELOW. TO Anna Bowman's VIDEO WITH FOOTAGE OF PROCESSIONAL WALKING AND OF OFFERINGS CREATED TO FORM A LITURGY TO FOUR BOOKS BY FOUR AUTHORS AT THE AUTUMN BOOKIE IN MARGATE.



A WALK WITH SHRINES by Thread and Word from Anna Bowman on Vimeo.

THREAD AND WORD - A WALK WITH SHRINES 

AT THE MARGATE BOOKIE 

Taking time to reflect with Maggy Rodd

An introduction by Elspeth (Billie ) Penfold

I have known Maggy for a number of years through The Turner Contemporary Studio group and the Journeys with The Waste Land project, also at Turner Contemporary. I have always been impressed by her skill and inventiveness with thread and textiles.

It is always a pleasure to work with someone as talented as she is and even more so when you discover they have a hidden talent. I never knew that Maggy used to be a braillist and was thrilled when this came to light as a part of this project. Her piece in response to award winning poet Owen Lowery's Transitions poems took my breath away and you can hear her explanation about it on the film A Walk with Shrines, attached below.

Owen's poems in the landscape

Owen Lowery is a tetraplegic who came to the Margate Bookie and performed his poems dealing with the subject of transitions and transformations.  Maggy's piece speaks volumes about what, because of disability, it feels like not to be able to access parts of life that we often take for granted.



Here Maggy reflects : 

I have had a life-long love affair with textiles but that does not mean I don’t experiment with other mediums when challenged.  

For 3 of my 4 ofrendas I decided to make journal quilts (a 3 layered, A4 sized, textile piece).  

The journal quilt format is used by quilters and textile artists to experiment with ideas before committing to a larger piece.  I have used this format many times in the past to create collages to document other projects I am involved in. 

For A Walk with Shrines, I made a quilt for each book.  One book I had read cover to cover, the second I was half way through reading at the time of making and the third quilt was inspired by the book’s title.

My fourth ofrenda was a purely personal response to poetry in general.  The techniques I used were patchwork, machine quilting, embroidery, free machine embroidery, photo transfer onto fabric and Braille.

I have always enjoyed working with other artists and this experience was no exception.    Whilst the shrines were small in size, the artistic voice from each ofrenda made a huge collective impact. 

 It was a joy to see such a varied selection of pieces coming together each time we stopped walking to build the shrines.   After we had placed our individual works on the shrine, there were a few seconds of silence.  For me, this was a time to give thanks for my skills and the pleasure I get from being able to create.










Thank you Elspeth, for inviting me to join yourself and the other artists.  This was a unique experience and a privilege to be part of."

Maggy Rodd

A Walk with Shrines was part of Margate Festival 2018:Now, which was funded by Turner Contemporary, Dreamland and Kent County Council.

WITH THANKS TO ANASTASIA MILLER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY.

A LINK BELOW. TO THE VIDEO WITH FOOTAGE OF PROCESSIONAL WALKING AND OF OFFERINGS CREATED TO FORM A LITURGY TO FOUR BOOKS BY FOUR AUTHORS AT THE AUTUMN BOOKIE IN MARGATE.



A WALK WITH SHRINES by Thread and Word from Anna Bowman on Vimeo.

Thread and Word - A Walk with Shrines 

at The Margate Bookie 

Taking time to reflect with Sonia Overall 

Sonia teaches on the Creative and Professional Writing programme at Canterbury Christchurch University. Sonia writes fiction and poetry and explores experimental creative forms.

Sonia offered us a bell to ring in the Ofrendas and Ofrendas to the four authors and their books.

She also created a processional walk in the shape of a Labyrinth of exactly 100 steps around the War Memorial at Trinity Square in Margate.

This performance as a shrine to Philip Whitely's  book 'Marching on Together'.

  

Sonia's reflections:

"Finding new ways of expressing and accessing written ideas is crucial to my work. I devour and produce reams of text every day both as a writer, a tutor of creative writing, and a critical reader – and it can be easy to deal with words as just so much information to be processed. Walking with Shrines was a valuable opportunity to take time thinking about, and respond creatively to, the written word.



I use walking in my practice, so bringing books and walking together seems logical. It’s good to be reminded of the physicality of the book too. Creating objects that relate to a writer’s ideas, and placing them in a shrine, forms a tangible link between thought and place.

Philip Whiteley  - 'Marching on Together'

A writer has created a poem or a passage of prose, has summed up ideas in titles or chapter headings, and committed them to the page.

Waling the Labyrinth

It’s an expression of gratitude for the writer’s work, and for the act of reading. With a project like this, it’s also an expression of the communal acts of reading and walking, of sharing the experience of text and relating it to the landscape.

I’m incredibly grateful to Billie for putting this project together; to the Margate Bookie for hosting it; to the generosity of the authors; to Anna, whose film  articulated our ideas so well; and to my fellow walkers for a rich and interesting experience.

 I would strongly recommend responding to books in this way to all readers: when you are moved by a text, take that text for a walk. 


Take the time to make something you can hold in your hands, however simple or ephemeral, which responds to those thoughts. 

Milagros for Elise Valmorbida's 'Madonna of the Mountains"

Your relationship with the text will deepen, and you will have rooted it to the physical world. What better way to celebrate the power of words? "

(Sonia Overall)

Assisting the assisted - Transitions Poetry by Owen Lowery

Relating to the landscape

a small hoard to 'The Hoarder' by Jess Kidd

Images of Ofrendas (offerings ) made by Sonia Overall with some words as she reflects on the process.

With thanks to Anastasia Miller for photography.

A link below. to the video with footage of processional walking and of offerings created to form a liturgy to four books by four authors at The Autumn Bookie in Margate.

A WALK WITH SHRINES by Thread and Word from Anna Bowman on Vimeo.

Thread and Word - A Walk with Shrines. 

Ofrendas responding to The Hoarder by Jess Kidd

Taking time to reflect with Virginia Fitch 

Images of Ofrendas (offerings ) made by Virginia Fitch with some words as she reflects on the process.

"Although I enjoyed the process and the walk – it was nevertheless a challenge for me to produce my ofrendas.  It gave me a tiny glimpse into what an artist goes through creating art.  Finding the initial idea, the ruminating about it, putting off doing anything, finally physically making it – the rush to create it to the exclusion of all else, and showing it to others.  These were new experiences for me.  And has of course left me wanting to do more – particularly through the medium of walking."

                                            (Virginia Fitch)

Some thoughts on the book  " The Hoarder' by Jess Kidd ,  written by Virginia:

"It is a novel about loss and grief.  It is also a novel about self-discovery brought about by caring and looking after someone else.  

This is the self-discovery I felt after caring for my mother and after finally losing her – I realised I understood more about myself, and my own weaknesses and strengths."

 ( Virginia Fitch)

Sonia Overall and Virginia Fitch in conversation - 'Ofrendas' 

With thanks to Anastasia Miller for photography and Virginia Fitch for words and photographs of her Ofrendas.

A link below. to the video with footage of processional walking and of offerings created to form a liturgy to four books by four authors at The Autumn Bookie in Margate.

A WALK WITH SHRINES by Thread and Word from Anna Bowman on Vimeo.