October Greetings and Autumnal Alchemies
“Autumn teaches us that fruition is also death; that ripeness is a form of decay. The willows, having stood for so long near water, begin to rust. Leaves are verbs that conjugate the seasons.”
― Gretel Ehrlich, The Solace of Open Spaces
It is Samhain tide, Halloween, a time when levity and poignancy collide as the dark of the year truly starts to turn in upon us. I am writing this overlooking the river in New Orleans, where I'm fortunate to be taking a small break, watching dark clouds roll in over the city. I have had a couple of months back at home, doing a lot of writing and enjoying the golden glow of a Georgia autumn, which this year was punctuated by a hurricane threat, which actually derailed my September update. Luckily for us, the storm moved to the east, but it utterly devastated the neighboring state of beautiful North Carolina. Nevertheless, after intensive travel the first part of the year, home has felt good to me. As surely most of you know, it's a rather difficult time in the United States right now. Emotions are running high, and with everyone in the grip of fear it is a definite chore finding joy in small things, but that is exactly what we must do.
What’s been going on
I have intentionally kept my engagements to a minimum over the past few months so that I could concentrate on getting some larger projects underway. I'm really excited about what comes next, and I know that early next year is going to be a whirlwind with the Ithell Colquhoun: Between Worlds Retrospective at the Tate, so I'm grateful to take this chance to turn inward a little bit.
I had the opportunity to write an essay for a catalog in support of a wonderful young artist Tia Taylor Berry. Tia is a mediumistic artist who works in geometric abstractions, and this last year she has been a teaching fellow at Gray’s School of Art at Robert Gordon University sponsored by Freelands Foundation. Tia has been spending the last year working on her own delicate abstracted Tarot deck, which is quite stunning, but I'm also really taken with her wall paintings and portal series, featuring these large pulsing circles of energy. One of the most inspiring things I learned about Tia while writing the essay was that she and a fellow artist have formed a rejection club, where they gleefully share all of the rejections that they have had and then move on to discuss what they're going to work toward next. Given how crushing rejection can be, especially for young people putting their work out there, I love the idea of reframing rejection as just another aspect of being a working artist.
I was also exceptionally honored to do the gallery essay for the lovely Chantal Powell and Femmy Otten who collaborated on the Heart Spells show for Arusha Gallery in London.
This was such a beautiful, subtle alchemically themed show, with an emphasis on those moments of transformation where you don't know exactly what it is that you are becoming. The work of these two artists complemented each other beautifully, and of course the Arusha space in London is just a delight to be in. You can find a copy of the essay here.
I've also been collaborating on a conference paper with artist and academic Heather Freeman for a small but mighty conference being held next week in Venice, the Aesthetics of Esoteric Practices: Materialities, Performances, Senses, hosted by The Giorgio Cini Foundation.
This paper looks at the work of contemporary artists and magical practitioners who are using digital technologies to create exceptional magical spaces for practice, including encounters with AI entities. In particular we're profiling some of my favorite artists, Zach Blas, Alice Bucknell, Barry William Hale, and of course Heather herself.
And if you're not familiar with Heather's work, she is the host and writer of the podcast Magic in the United States. It's a great listen, so check it out here!
November 19th I will be giving a talk for Laetitia Barbier’s Cartomancy Program “This Current Drew You: Ithell Colquhoun's Erotic Energies and Sacred Landscapes”, an illustrated talk exploring the connections between Colquhoun's theorizing about Sex Magic and her view of energy in the landscape. The talk is free, and it's a really fun one!
Inputs and Inspirations
Inspired listening at the moment has been a return to the work of Aoife O'Donovan. Her 2016 album The Magic Hour is perfect listening for this time of year, as she conjures all sorts of spirits and ancestors with her Celtically tinged Americana. And if you like your harmonies tight and juicy, I also recommend her collaborations with Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz in the award winning trio I'm With Her.
Inspired watching has been Derek Sarno’s Vegan Cooking You Tube Channel.
Thanks for reading, and wishing all of you love and the unquenchable light of hope this season.