Polaroid Transfers
In light of new engagement projects at Kresen Kernow and The Museum of Cornish Life this autumn, I wanted to try some new processes for sharing with others
The Tehidy Creative Residency programme
A short film about our celebration day
Pop up dark rooms and the pinhole
Delivered a piece of work for Camp Kernow an off grid summer camp for children, made a darkroom from not much, the kids where really keen to make ‘ghosts’ which was fun (see the movie here). Had some leftover paper so I took a picture in the river at Bosahan woods, would like to make a wellington boot pinhole real soon, so I can keep my tripod dry.
A day of radical reimagining’s for a better future- ‘Kernowfuturism’
With funding from Tehidy Community Chest and Camborne Council we were able to hold a celebration day on Saturday 14th June.
The cottage was open to visitors to look at the outputs of the Tehidy Creative Residency Programme (see previous posts) and the work of The Active Looking project with their annual exhibition being held in the house too. All day volunteers from the project served refreshments and showed people round the gallery spaces. In the morning Laurie Huggett ran a writing workshop infused with Kernowek as part of her Gwedhen project and in the afternoon I presented the birth of ‘kernowfuturism’. This is a mix of science fiction, history and fantasy, with thanks to black artists like ‘Sun Ra’ we can explore the complexities of identity using cinematic tropes. At this scratch event we had DJ Sounds Like Cornwall playing original Cornish vinyl, Poet Lucy Beckley collecting our words of hope on a Clootie tree and artist Rosi Jolly creating Kernowfuturistic costumes from scrap with all ages.
I became a futuristic Bal Maiden, serving tea treats and scones and the day finished with an Afro-Caribbean feast served by Coco Bean Cornwall and prizes for the best costumes.
The concept, an emerging ideology of creative expressions is embedded in the identity of the black diaspora and its links to Cornwall identity. I hope to create a new project from this first event that explores the future ambitions of Cornwall and asks what ideologies we have in common with others. In a time of political unrest around these isles, there is a need for Kernow to lead and celebrate difference.
Costumes and Cordage
Endeavouring to keep the research and development ‘made from Tehidy’, I made masks and costumes from leaves, thread and cordage from nettles, The Penlee Family project had a go too. Each stage of making cordage is particularly satisfying and in another life I would happily spend my days bashing the life out of nettles and twisting them up.
