Rituals of Wheat 2018, part of 'Wheat and Rush, Weave and Ritual'

'Wheat and Rush, Weave and Ritual' is part of the MERL Seminars: Land and Folk. In this seminar two artists discuss and enact their practice in relation to materiality, seasonality, craft and performance. Catherine Morland will talk about the journey her practice has taken since visiting the prehistoric landscapes and badlands of Turkana, Northern Kenya, and the pastoralist nomads who currently live there. Amanda Couch will explore and enact rituals which mark the autumn season, engaging vegetation deities, harvest amulets, and the history of the harvest festival, drawing on the MERL collection of straw work and corn dollies. Together they are working on a project with three other artists which explores themes relevant to the MERL collection. Land and folk have often been portrayed romantically. They routinely play a part in stories of nationhood and identity. Our understandings of them are deeply rooted in the past yet still brought regularly to the fore in contemporary explorations of the countryside. This series of talks and discussions offers different perspectives on our complex relationships with people and place.