A new exhibition featuring artwork and words by artist Jackie Morris and poet Robert Macfarlane from their bestselling book, The Lost Spells, goes on display at The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre in Northumberland this month.
The Lost Spells: Listening to a Landscape of Voices will showcase original artwork and poetry alongside an interactive touch screen, giving visitors the chance to create their own songs of nature using live recordings of wildlife including owl, fox, and curlew. A series of spoken word pieces, wild nature calls and acoustic music created by musicians from the Spell Songs ensemble will create an ambient soundscape.
Artist Jackie Morris says: “It is more important than ever to listen to the many voices of the more than human creatures that share this land. The Sill is built in a place surrounded by wild lives and I cannot think of a better venue for this exhibition. The swallows in The Lost Spells were drawn from birds nesting on the building next door, curlew call overhead, owls are close and the landscape is stunning in all its weathers.”
The exhibition will also feature a recording of a song by vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Cosmo Sheldrake. Children will be able to write their own spell-poems before speaking them into the wind, dress up as wildlife, and take part in arts and crafts based activities led by Northumberland National Park Rangers. There will also be a range of self-led walks for people to explore the National Park’s landscape.
The Lost Spells: Listening to a Landscape of Voices opens at The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre in Northumberland on July 23, 2022 and runs until June 4, 2023. For more information about The Lost Spells, visit www.thelostwords.org/
