Waking the Witch, touring exhibition
The museum has several objects on loan to a new touring exhibition.
‘The British Isles have a particularly strong relationship to magic and the occult, with the chants of witchcraft echoing throughout their history. Legion Projects is delighted to announce Waking the Witch, a touring group exhibition which will look to the importance of craft, ritual and land on the practice of the ever shifting figure of the witch.
Traditional witchcraft has a strong connection to the earth, with an intimate knowledge of herbs, plants and the elements – as well as the human body. As gatekeepers to altered consciousness and as communicators with non-human beings, 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.
Offering interpretations of both contemporary and historical witchcraft, the exhibition aims to reclaim the multifarious voices the witch has been given over the course of history, facilitating a speculative search for lost knowledge. 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 one that inspires a deep communion with our natural surroundings, a connection to our intuitive powers and as a force for harnessing collective energy.’
Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, 15 Sep – 7 Nov 2018
Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury, 1 May – 8 June 2019 TBA
Bonington Gallery, Nottingham, Sep – Oct 2019 TBA
20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, 18 January – 18 April 2020
