Call to Holy Ground by Fourthland
Exhibition dates: 17 May – 24 July 2021
Venues:
St Andrew’s Church, 153 Colworth Rd, Leytonstone, London E11 1JD.
Shri Nathji Sanatan Hindu Temple, 159-161 Whipps Cross Rd, Leytonstone, London E11 1NP.
An online talk given by FourthLand with the theologian Chris Thornhill took place on 17 December 2020. Please join A+C to access our video libary and listen to the talk.
Commissioned by Art and Christianity and made in response to the current global ecological crisis this exhibition was comprised of an installation, sound walk and a film work made in collaboration with women elders from the communities of St Andrew’s Church and Shri Nathji Sanatan Hindu Temple. Call to Holy Ground creates a focal point where nature, sanctuary and belief combine to create a new experiential ‘scripture’ of the earth and a collective field of trust shared between faiths, generations and cultures.
Projected on to a waxed surface, the film work shows a series of rituals, gestures, songs and sounds performed by individual elders and FourthLand in the ancient woodland, heaths and waterways of Epping Forest. Bridging spiritual and ecological practices, the work highlights the importance of the everyday ritual act within a larger constellation of actions.
Performances were filmed by Nikki McClarron and Ale Tarraf.
The Ground Mother, 2021
Fabric, felt, hide, oak, wax, mirrors, scrolls, seeds, branches and donated objects
This piece, which was installed in the side chapel at St Andrew’s Church, presents an assemblage of sculptural elements including a cloak worn in performances filmed as an expression of faith and nature. The fabrics were offered by elders from the church and temple and were then stitched and felted by the artists. Within the fabrics are fragments of conversation and storytelling written in English and Sanskrit.
Earth scripture, 2021
Felt, fabric, wax, glass, oak and water
This piece, which was installed at the Temple, is linked to The Ground Mother on show in the church. Hand-stitched symbols express stories shared by the community. Other elements include domestic items and objects collected from the forest. The glass vessel holds water collected from the River Ganges and from the nearby River Lea. Bringing these two rivers together symbolises the partnerships this project has enriched. While the Ganges is a river profoundly sacred to Hindus, the Lea also has an ancient association to Celtic worship, and its name is derived from the Celtic word for light.
Photographs
Medium format photographs also shown at the Temple and taken by Nikki McClarron and Ale Tarraf record the moment of ritual made by participants during the of Autumn 2020.
Map showing the proximity of St Andrew’s and the Temple and the footpath through Epping Forest between them.
About FourthLand
FourthLand use their process led research and commitment to social practice to reposition marginalised knowledge in order to form new modes of social and environmental consciousness with diverse communities and cultural groups. Since 2008 their work has sought to merge art and life to collectively develop the myths that are essential to enchant and reposition forms of kinship to foster a deeper connection to the land and each other. These methods produce transformative collaborative projects, choreographed rituals, sound work, storytelling and improvisations that weave together human and non-human communication. FourthLand have presented recent exhibitions and performances for Kestle Barton, PEER, SPACE, Somerset House, Arnolfini, Barbican, Errant Bodies, UCL, South London Gallery, with other projects in UK and internationally.
Call to Holy Ground has been supported by Arts Council of England, the Morel Trust, the Lady Peel Trust, the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation and the London Borough of Waltham Forest.