Heritage Inspired Art / ‘Vraiqu’sie' with the Moving Arts Collective

In the latest episode of our ‘Small Island, Big Story Sessions’ podcast, hosts Mel and Perry are joined by Natasha Dettman, Karen Le Roy Harris, and Kerry Jane Warner, who are members of The Moving Arts Collective.  

These passionate creatives reimagined our local tradition of vraicking (collecting seaweed) using film, sculpture, sound, textile, and our local language for ‘Vraiqu’sie’, an exhibition at Elizabeth Castle.

Hear all about this powerful project and how the artists were inspired by Jersey’s heritage. 

To find out more about vraicking visit our website.

Did you know you can stay at the Elizabeth Castle Apartment?  It's part of our historic heritage holiday lets portfolio.  Find out how you can have the Castle to yourself here.

Transcript

Jersey Heritage Podcast – Small Island, Big Story Sessions

Vraiqu’sie with the Moving Arts Collective 

Perry (00:19):

Welcome to the Jersey Heritage Podcast,

Mel (00:22):

The Small Island Big Story sessions.

Perry (00:25):

You are listening to Mel and Perry.

Mel (00:27):

In today's episode, we are joined by Natasha Dettman, Karen Le Roy Harris, and Kerry Jane Warner, who are members of the Moving Arts collective. These passionate creatives have reimagined our local tradition of Vraicking through the use of film, sculpture, sound, textile, and our local Jerriais. They have celebrated our local tradition as a ritual connecting land, sea, and community. Listen in as they talk to us about their creative process and how our heritage inspired them. Firstly, can I just say how excited I am to have all three of you in the room, because we don't often get this many guest speakers at one time. And to have all women is so exciting, <laugh>. So, yeah, excited for us. Thank you. And

Karen (01:13):

Thank you for having us.

Mel (01:15):

So firstly for any of our listeners that aren't familiar with the Moving Arts Collective, how would did you define it?

Karen (01:21):

So, the Moving Arts Collective is an artist collective. It's a very interdisciplinary collective. So we have got writers, musicians, songwriters, sculptors, so it's very kind of cross disciplinary and it's very much about being an artist led, grassroots organization. So what we kind of thought was kind of missing in Jersey was a kind of organization which is led by artists for artists. And so it's very much about bringing people together. So we very much do a lot of, although we have a kind of core four members of the Moving Arts Collective, we open out the projects and we invite artists in to be part of them. So it's very much about bringing people in, whether that's in Jersey or bringing artists over from different places as well. So we've kind of got a kind of real mix and it's really much about bringing people together.

Karen (02:05):

So yeah, the people involved in the Vraiqu’sie Collective where Natasha Dettman, Kerry Jane Warner, Karen Le Roy Harris, Margarida Lourenco-Olivier, Esther Rose-Parkes, and Blessed Ndlovu. So the project is produced by a Moving Arts collective. We got funding support through their Barrow Arts scholarship and also in partnership with Jersey Heritage. And obviously it's a venue where we've, they hosted us as part of the exhibition as well. And we also got some funding through Jersey Community Foundation and also through Creative Island Partnership as well. So we've kind of had lots of support and we also had a lot of support through the aspiring Jersey Island Geopark as well. So they've been really supporting us on, on some of the learning through the project.

Mel (02:48):

Yeah, it's amazing. I've seen lots of the stuff that you guys have produced throughout the years, and it's just really inspiring to see how many amazing projects and exhibitions and installations you put together. So thank you for everything you contribute to the island.

Karen (03:00):

Thank you.

Mel (03:02):

<Laugh>. So the Vraiqu’sie Project, let's talk a little bit about that and what kind of first drew you into racking as the topic?

Karen (03:12):

I think just as a kind of material that has, is so present within the island, I think, you know, the seaweed that you're kind of encountering all the time, that, and to not know much about it actually. And I think I've, I've always been interested in materials, I suppose. So that really kind of did draw me in as a kind of a material that's so abundant in the island and that once had such a purpose, which feels like it has a lack of purpose in the way that it once did. So I think materials kind of tell stories of places, and so I think I have lots of other materials. I'm also very interested in like rocks too. But seaweed was something, yeah, very tangible and, and a and also a material that told lots of stories about the people that worked with this material in a very kind of practical way with the kind of agricultural history. So it felt like a, a real material that could be approached on many levels, I suppose, as a, purely as an artistic material, but also as kind of history of the people and the place. And, and its kind of how this material's been activated in many ways.

Natasha (04:12):

And I think sort of accessing the coastline and connecting to the landscape of the island was very much part of the project, wasn't it? We wanted to pick up on an island material and planned maybe to expand this project to other materials that are specific and local to the island. But yeah, choosing something that you found on the shoreline here was a way of connecting to the landscape.

Mel (04:37):

Yeah, for sure. And I'm guessing a lot of research went into this project in terms of thinking about, you know, because fracking, not only is it a tangible thing, but it's an intangible cultural heritage in terms of how we pass down the knowledge of, of why we do it and how, and kind of how it leads into farming. So what was your research process like for this project?

Natasha (04:56):

Well, we began really in the archive, didn't we? So I mean, we've, we've made many visits to the archive. Looked at the Societe collection. We've spent a lot of time out in the landscape meeting with different people like Vincent Aubert at Samares Manor, just talking to people who hold the knowledge and walking the kind of pathways that the Vraic collectors would have walked, spending time in that landscape. So really just kind of soaking everything up. But I mean, beginning, I suppose in the archives, we, we were looking at photographic images, we were looking at seaweed, pressings, and that's actually maybe the seaweed pressings where we picked up on the kind of very feminine aspect of this, because that was often done by Victorian ladies. So, you know, as a, as an all female collective, that felt really kind of something really beautiful, that connection to us. And

Kerry-Jane (05:53):

There's a, there's a great collection of interviews as well, the archive. And there are a few female voices in there. And that got us thinking about the women more because mostly it is male voices.

Natasha (06:06):

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I mean there, there is a story and it's a very clipped story about a lady called Mrs. Pierce <laugh>, who's referred to very briefly in an interview who was on the, on the beach in the morning collecting frac and went home to have a baby deliver her baby and was back on the beach collecting frac by the

Karen (06:28):

Afternoon <laugh>.

Natasha (06:30):

And we were kind of like, wow, this is the most amazing character. And then the interview just kind of end. So we couldn't find anything else out about her, but we really felt her spirit, she became

Kerry-Jane (06:39):

More kind of

Natasha (06:40):

Inspiration. Yeah. She was our energy and

Karen (06:42):

Her your muse. Her

Natasha (06:44):

Strength.

Kerry-Jane (06:44):

Yeah, her, her strength.

Karen (06:46):

Yeah. I think that the resilience wasn't it, of this, you know, you know, and I think people were resilient. I mean, it was, we, you know, we were kind of out there filming, you know, in all weathers, but actually the, you know, the wracking process was, you know, was hard, wasn't it? Yeah. Hard work. It wasn't, you know, for the faint hearted. So it really was, you know, robust. However,

Kerry-Jane (07:05):

It was also we picked up on the kind of great feeling of community and you know, currently we feel there's a lack of those sort of community practices. And I think people are looking more and more towards trying to re conjure those. And we were, we were very aware of the community spirit of it, even though it was hard work. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. Everybody would go out together. There were lot, lots of people, lots of carts, lots of horses trundling down to collect their rack.

Natasha (07:33):

Yeah. And there's so many people that you talk to, older members of the community who remember those days and have all these stories about the visuals of when, you know, you could only collect rack between certain times at the year and at certain times of the day. And, you know, when sunrise came, all the carts kind of racing down the hill at the attack. And it is, it's really lovely, isn't it, just to pick up on all those stories, all that knowledge that's held within the community. Yeah,

Karen (08:00):

I think, and I think there was very celebratory, like I think also, I think someone told me that Seymour slipped, apparently the pub opposite used to get the drinks lined up on the Slipway <laugh>. So when they came from their really hard day at work, they were like ready for them. 'cause They all wanted to have a, a drink to kind of celebrate the kind of end of day kind of labour. So I think there's all these kind of stories of people coming together for this common purpose and there's not many activities where we can do that anymore. And I think, yeah, like you say, it's hard work, but it actually brought the whole community together 'cause it was something so many people practiced in. Yeah.

Natasha (08:36):

And also for us as a collective to work in that kind of type of community, this is a really collaborative project mm-hmm <affirmative>. So looking at how people work together, you know, this the, we all come from different skill sets, different backgrounds, but we have all worked on every aspect of this project. And so we wanted to kind of, to to see this project through in that, with the spirit of that community

Karen (09:02):

Yeah. And having a non-hierarchical approach to art. Yeah. So it was very much an invitation. And we all have different, you know, sculptural skill sets, films, skillset sets, songs, sound skill sets. But we really work together on all the processes together and really learning from each other and bringing all our skills to the table and, and sort of sharing in that which has been very beautiful process, hasn't it?

Kerry-Jane (09:25):

Yeah. And one of the very lovely comments at the exhibition was that, that it seemed like one voice, which was really perfect. Mm-Hmm.

Natasha (09:34):

Yeah. We've begun to think with each other's minds Yes. Move, move as a group very much. But that comes from spending so much time together in the landscape as well. You know, we sang in the landscape, which people thought we were really odd <laugh>,

Mel (09:51):

It's looking

Natasha (09:53):

At us on a summer day, summer day, or in circle in the sea singing to each other. But you know, that

Mel (09:59):

I wanna come!

Kerry-Jane (10:02):

A bit of experimenting with different things and movement as well in, in the landscape. And I think it really did kind of get, get into us as, as a group. And it, that it, it very much felt from quite early on that we were all thinking the same way. Yeah.

Mel (10:18):

That's so special.

Kerry-Jane (10:19):

And what, what we wanted to make actually, I think we were all kind of on the same wavelength, no pun intended. <Laugh>.

Mel (10:25):

<Laugh>. So that's, I, that was actually leading me into my next question was, you know, from the research and from the initial idea, was it quite clear where you wanted to kind of end up? Or did it kind of move into different directions? No, I think

Kerry-Jane (10:38):

We all had the idea that the procession was really important, but

Natasha (10:41):

I think when we began the project, we didn't know it was a very open-ended process. No. We didn't

Kerry-Jane (10:47):

Want to have anything Yeah. To

Karen (10:48):

Start with. Yeah. I think it was very much like, let's do the research. Like, 'cause we, you know, we went to the archives, we went out with like the aspiring geo Jersey Island Geopark, and they took us on the racking path, didn't they? So I think all of this kind of being, soaking up all of that information and kind of knowledge from lots of local people, then we kind of

Natasha (11:10):

Started to become cleared. Yeah. And then it started to emerge slowly and, and just kind of, yes. Again, spending time, I can't sort of overstate in a way how important it was to spend time in the landscape. And you start to emotionally connect to the stories of the people, kind of who've walked those pathways. You really feel the lives that they lived and the creatures that are there and picking up on the sounds and the sensations and the, the, the elements. And then from that, this kind of idea started to kind of develop. And then we were very much on the same path because we'd gone through the same experiences together. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. Yeah. So, you know, we, we wrote poetry, didn't we, responding to the landscape. And, and slowly this story started to emerge and it was all about that procession, that ritual, that kind of walking those pathways down.

Kerry-Jane (12:01):

And we looked at some of the, the er names for seaweed, which were a lot of them were to do with the sound that seaweed makes as well. Which, you know, oh wow. That's

Natasha (12:11):

Really interesting.

Karen (12:12):

Yeah.

Kerry-Jane (12:14):

Yes. Slapping seaweed against the rock. And yeah, there's lots of descriptive names. The color of the seaweed. And also just being deep in that very low water landscape, you start to feel that, you know, humans aren't the only important <laugh> being, and you feel more on a, on a par with the other creatures of that area. And

Natasha (12:37):

It's timeless, isn't it?

Kerry-Jane (12:38):

It's very timeless. And you are very aware of sound, you know, quite gentle sound and, and the other creatures that are there and inhabit that landscape and are there a lot more than you are. Mm. It's kind of theirs. And so you are less important as a human somehow. And

Natasha (12:53):

It's ancient. Yeah. You know, you are walking

Karen (12:57):

The same path,

Natasha (12:57):

The same path, and across the landscape that has been there for thousands and thousands and thousands of years unchanged really. And so it's connecting to that kind of deep time. Yeah. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. That was really important. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. And I think when we started to come up with the idea of the procession or this imagined ritual, which would honour the, the taking of the seaweed to gift to the land, and then returning that in the form of this little plant and this ceremony that gifts the potato plant back to the sea, we were kind of thinking that this hasn't been done. We haven't seen any of anything like this in the archive before. Mm-Hmm. Have we, we have a, we know that in agricultural societies, the harvest, they would have had a celebration, you know, to honor the harvest. But there was nothing that kind of had existed. And when I think we started to think we wanna set this in a kind of timeless era, <laugh> in a way, and hence why it's in black and white, the film. Yeah. Yeah. Gorgeous. Created so that you can't be, you know, when you look at color stocks for film, you know, they very much connect them to a specific time and place. Yeah. 'cause They change and evolve. Exactly. Yeah. Of course. But you know, with it being black and white, we could kind of sense that timelessness of, of the landscape.

Karen (14:14):

And I think, and I think like in a way, sort of the, maybe the job of art in a way is that what, what is missing? So what are the stories that the untold stories or the imagined kind of rituals that would've happened? And I think we kind of naturally wanted to do rituals when we were in the space. Like we didn't naturally want to sing together when we were walking out there. We kind of gathered things, we, it, it kind of happened almost just, you know, without thinking too much about it, it

Kerry-Jane (14:41):

Did it. Yeah. You become aware of how, how much of a gift it has been and that that, that, that word reciprocity of, you know, the kind of giving back, which is such, such a big thing in a lot of indigenous cultures. And like Natasha said, in the harvest, they would always celebrate with the corn dolly at the end of the harvest. Just to, just to take that moment in time to say thank you really.

Mel (15:03):

It's so beautiful. And it also sounds like it was a deeply bonding experience for the entire collective. Oh

Natasha (15:08):

Yeah, definitely. Very much. Yeah. It's a, it's, yeah, it's, we all felt really emotional when we opened the exhibition <laugh>, you know? Yeah. I can only imagine. It's kind of think how far we've come and developed with this project. Yeah,

Karen (15:19):

Yeah. And we've, we've created all these relationships with each other, which feels like Yeah. Very strong as well. Which feels very beautiful.

Mel (15:27):

And it depicts like, you can only imagine what it must've been like for people at the time doing this. 'cause It's, it was their livelihoods, right? Yeah. Yeah. So they were doing this to survive and to feed and to nourish. So, you know, the stakes are higher in some ways, you know? Absolutely. So it's just really, it can only imagine what it must've been like and for you to recreate that within your collective. Well, and

Kerry-Jane (15:46):

I think working as the collective of six of us, you know, there were times when there was one person working or two or three or four or five or six. And it was never an issue. We all just did what, what we could do really. And we worked within different groups and different settings and on different things altogether. And it that felt really lovely.

Natasha (16:07):

Yeah. When somebody's energy would wane a little bit, someone else would be coming up. That's great. You know, that really carries you through. I

Kerry-Jane (16:14):

Think we all felt very supported by each other. Definitely.

Mel (16:16):

That's a really beautiful, sounds like a really beautiful experience. I'm very envious. That wasn't part of

Natasha (16:21):

This <laugh>.

Mel (16:22):

So what were your visions in terms of all the different elements? How did you envision all of that coming together? 'cause That's a lot of content, isn't it? And I'm guessing you are all responsible for different elements, or did you all tackle each bit together?

Karen (16:33):

I suppose it was a bit of a mishmash, wasn't it? Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. I think the invitation was always open to everyone, but obviously we all do have specific skillset sets. And I think the reason why it is so multidisciplinary is because we all are bringing to the table, you know, these different textiles films, sculpture, songwriter, you know, we're bringing all of that together in all of our kind of different experiences and our different backgrounds as well. So I think we're bringing all our individual experiences, but I would say it was like, I'd say there was an invitation to, as much as we did kind of take lead on certain elements where we had more experience, I think it was always open for people to get involved with every aspect as well

Natasha (17:11):

And step outside your own comfort zone because that's, that was a really important part of the process for all of us to kind of become involved in this collective, was maybe you're gonna do something that you haven't done before. So it was really nice to work collaboratively on things. And I think as artists, although we have one maybe main kind of area that we, you know, come from, we all work across different disciplines as well. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. So it may not, yeah. And, and I guess that just kind of fed in, so we're all quite comfortable turning our hand to Yeah. Yeah.

Kerry-Jane (17:43):

I think we all, we all had that history, didn't we? Of, of using different mediums. Yeah.

Karen (17:47):

I think we're all quite into kind of immersive kind of installation kind of practice based works, I think. Which again, is quite multi-layered and multi formats, isn't it? So I think that was very much present.

Mel (17:59):

Nice. Yeah. I think it's amazing to see something that's so multifaceted. There's so many layers to it. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. And I think what's also really interesting is, you know, navigating that balance between honouring something that's been and happened and then interpreting it in modern, in a kind of a modern context. How did you find that? Did you find it was quite natural?

Natasha (18:17):

I think so, yeah. Yes.

Kerry-Jane (18:19):

Yes. I think it was, there were certain things we wanted to honour, like the Jersey Bonnet <laugh>,

Speaker 7 (18:24):

So sweet <laugh>.

Kerry-Jane (18:27):

But then we did a bit of a spin on the jersey bonnets. I tried to just, I had an old one that my mother had bought in, forget the seventies. And so I kind of looked at that and worked out roughly how to do it. And then I went to see Astra up at Hampton who makes them. And she gave me a few tips, made these bonnets, but some of them, so we, we shape shift into the creatures of the shore. And so some of the bonnets, there's two, there's a coran and an oyster capture, and they have much longer black bonnets with longer cape like things to represent the sort of wings of those birds. And then the oyster capture has a white apron and a red ribbon to represent the breast and the, the legs and the beak. And then the horse person has like a kind of hessian saddle blanket apron. And the colors of the costumes relate to, like, Karen is the hermit crab, so she's like a sandy color. So there was a, a little bit of that to do with the creatures and just changing up the costumes a bit. And we dyed the shifts underneath with seaweed. Margarita did that.

Mel (19:30):

So

Karen (19:30):

Talented. And then all the, all the sculptures themselves are made of willow, which we got from Alcindo, which grows at Samares Manor,

Mel (19:38):

Big up Alcindo.

Karen (19:39):

<Laugh>. Thanks. So thanks to Alcindo for that. And then we, it was all collected seaweed, so we didn't, and I think that was something they did, wasn't it? With the wracking. Yeah. We were trying to be kind of more, you know, environmentally responsibility with the materials we chose for exhibition two. So we, which would've been rever new, which is like seaweed that is like through thrown up, thrown up from the sea. I think the news like to come mm-hmm <affirmative>. So seaweed that comes in. Whereas I think they would've done a combination, I think in wracking of seaweed collecting seaweed that's happens to be thrown in by the storms or whatever at the tides. Or they can, they would go and cut the seaweed from the rocks and that was where it was much monitored, I suppose, how much you were allowed to cut and all the rest of it. But yeah, so we kind of, we really worked with the kind of washed shore sort of seaweed. And all of the creatures are made of willow sort of structures. And then they've got different, we've got different seaweeds that kind of make up the kind of the texture of, of the creatures themselves as well.

Natasha (20:37):

Hmm. I guess the film is the most kind of, in a sense, contemporary aspect of it, isn't it? Yeah. That, you know, it's in terms of a material that we are using digital film and projection within the exhibition. But otherwise the materials are very, very traditional. But I think in terms of interpreting it in a contemporary context, it's really, I think it's something that's needed in our society now, is to connect back to physical, tangible places, emotional places. So, you know, it, that feels kind of contemporary, old, but new, you know? And, and so it's probably, yeah, something that just came really naturally to us to, to use those materials and, and it felt like it. I don't think we questioned it actually too much. No. Yeah.

Karen (21:27):

No. And I think it's that regrounding, isn't it? Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. And I think the same with the use of jia, the language. I think, again, kind of old and new and I'm, I'm learning Jerriase, so I'm still trying, trying to kind of get there with kind of learn, relearning the language. But it is it is a way of connecting to the land. And I think there's so many words within the language, which absolutely help you understand your place. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. And, and and yeah, the context of a place which, which you don't understand through English. So it's very much a language that holds a lot of knowledge of place. And I think, I think the language and also being in the landscape really also for us to relearn. 'cause I think you're often not, you know, I feel like it's sometimes I feel like as an education I wasn't, I was lacking when I was growing up and I wasn't given this education of knowing anything about the landscape.

Karen (22:17):

And I think, you know, or any, I didn't even know there was a language till I got older. So, I mean, all these things I actually feel a little bit like I was, it was a bit stripped away from me actually. And I'm sort of trying to actually relearn and re-understand this place, this language and because I think it's really important for us all, you know, to kind of feel like we're connected to somewhere and to, and then I think the connection to place also connects us to each other as well. So I think it's yeah, it feels like very, very important that we, our relationship with place is not an extractive thing. That it's actually about, you know, being part of somewhere and an understanding. And I think that really, you know, that is really good for, for people's health and wellbeing to feel like a sense of place connect. Yeah. To feel connected. Yeah, absolutely. And to feel connected. And it doesn't matter where, you know, you can be from anywhere, but I think if you are here in Jersey to understand this place, wherever you are from, I think it's really deeply connects us all.

Natasha (23:13):

So I think it's what you're seeing with people, the sea swimming and you know, <laugh>

Karen (23:19):

The sea medicine.

Natasha (23:20):

Absolutely. And it's free.

Kerry-Jane (23:25):

One of our collective is from Zimbabwe and along the way we, we had her in the water, she can't swim, but we had her floating with us in supporting her in the water. And it was such a lovely thing for I think she's felt Yeah. Much more connected to here. Yeah. because of it.

Karen (23:42):

Yeah. What a gift. That's so lovely. And I think just, I think what I've really noticed is just how many different seaweeds there are. <Laugh>. Oh my god. There's like so much variety and I think, and

Kerry-Jane (23:54):

They're all edible. Yeah. Those,

Mel (23:56):

I didn't know that. Yes, they're all edible.

Karen (23:58):

Yeah. Yeah. We went out of Trudy who took us out and showed us, but yeah, you can, it's all

Kerry-Jane (24:03):

Some tastier than others. <Laugh>. Yeah.

Karen (24:05):

Yeah.

Mel (24:05):

I'm sure

Natasha (24:05):

There's definitely a season for them, isn't it? <Laugh>, you get

Mel (24:09):

You. Yeah. Isn't it? It's supposed to. Really.

Kerry-Jane (24:10):

And it's so interesting just working with it, you know, you'd have really soft hands afterwards working with the wet seaweed. It's just such interesting stuff. And it's been used medicinally. They used to use it in the water, put on wounds 'cause of the iodine in it and Yeah. So fascinating.

Natasha (24:26):

And there's a material, I mean, because this project's been so long, I mean, we've been working on this for a year and a half, really

Karen (24:33):

Bit longer, bit

Kerry-Jane (24:34):

A year or two,

Natasha (24:34):

I think, since it's inception. And the material changes all the time. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. So things that, that we gathered back when we be, began, began and dried out, you know, has taken many different forms. You take it into an environment like the hospital block where the exhibition is, and it's quite a damp environment. It's, so it starts to absorb and moulded into a different shape again. And the color changes. So you

Mel (25:02):

Have to kind of like surrender to, its, its kind of like thing,

Karen (25:06):

Well it's a living material and it's, it's, it's, it's activated by the environment constantly. Sculptures.

Kerry-Jane (25:12):

And you used usually to predict rain coming, you'd hang a dry bit up and Oh, 'cause the moisture you started to soften you, the oh, rain's on the way.

Karen (25:18):

Oh wow. It was a bit scary taking everything over. And I was like, it was so. It was so, and everything was, I was like, it all was all holding its shape and like now all the seeding has got all this holding all this moisture and everything becomes heavy. And I was like, oh god. Wow.

Kerry-Jane (25:33):

I don't think we even appreciated how kind of, we didn't think about it, I suppose how seasonal it was. 'cause When we first started collecting a lot of kelp to make the wings, 'cause they're quite feathery you know, there was an abundance of it and then suddenly there wasn't anymore. And we needed more and we had to kind of wait until there was a, you know, further on in the year.

Karen (25:54):

Same with the sea lettuce, wasn't it? Yeah. We've got one the hermit crab has made from the sea letters, but that's in the summer. But, and, and then we were like, oh, I haven't got quite enough to, to finish. We, we were sort of panicking, weren't we? But then it was, but it was also, you know, in terms of making, you know, and, and, and that idea of again, like working in relation with things, you know, we had to, and we couldn't, you know, ship something in to, oh, we need some more blue paint, we're gonna ship that in, or whatever mm-hmm <affirmative>. We had to wait and be patient and work with what was available. And if it wasn't available, it wasn't available. And we just had to have to deal with that.

Kerry-Jane (26:31):

That's, that's a, a lovely thing to be more seasonal about it. Yeah.

Mel (26:34):

Yeah. But it also gives you like a different level of understanding of what, what it's all about and how obviously in times past, like how they adapted to these various different situations or you are Right. That whole thing about patients. Like you have to be patient with nature. It has its own course.

Natasha (26:49):

Absolutely. And deeply observing and honouring those cycles, you know, which people,

Mel (26:54):

Which we don't really do

Natasha (26:55):

Anymore. Absolutely.

Karen (26:56):

No, I think I really enjoyed actually as much as sometimes, you know, they thinking, oh gosh, we need to some more of that. Actually, I

Kerry-Jane (27:03):

Think we all quite liked that really. <Laugh>.

Karen (27:04):

We did. We did. 'cause I think it's about slowing down. Yeah. It's about being present and, and noticing and like you say, observation of, and I think that really came out of that spending time was just observing the changes in the seaweed and the, you know, all of the environment. I think it really, and even film, well we were filming out obviously, so filming, we had to really work with the tides and, and actually, so I think our knowledge of place really evolved and developed alongside kind of making the work

Natasha (27:33):

And the wheel, which is a essential theme in the film. Yeah. Honours that cycle. Yeah. So everything happens around this circular kind of structure. This, these, this revolution of time. Yeah. With all the characters kind of transforming into their kind of hybrid forms and,

Karen (27:52):

And the wheels like, well it's got, this is a seasonal, but it's also references of racking wheel, which is so like in the, in the images of the archives that, that those are so

Natasha (28:01):

Present, powerful, powerful shape, isn't it? Yeah. And the horse such a powerful silhouette that the horse has.

Mel (28:08):

Sounds like it's completely full with, you've thought about every single detail about how it all links together, which is really, really magnificent. Well

Kerry-Jane (28:15):

The unforeseen thing which we didn't think about was how perfect the hospital block was to put everything. Really? Yeah. Yeah.

Mel (28:21):

You see? So as a yes, I will have to go and see it, but in, in what way?

Kerry-Jane (28:26):

It's been beautifully renovated. So the walls have not been re plastered. They've been rubbed down. So they're beautiful modelled colours of old paint of greens and bits of red and it's beautiful and it just works so well with the sculptures. Yeah. Wow.

Karen (28:43):

This sort of rawness. So that's a bonus.

Natasha (28:45):

Yeah. We were saying that it would be really weird to see this exhibition in a kind of white box gallery space. It just wouldn't work. You needed somewhere that was quite rustic and earthy and, and and sense time.

Kerry-Jane (28:57):

Yeah. The sense of time I think as well. Yeah.

Karen (28:59):

And I also like that it's a title site so you can't, I was

Mel (29:02):

Just about to, you took the words out America. No, it's good. It's good. It's like, yeah, I think Elizabeth Castle, you kind of feel like you are in Jersey, but you're not, it kind of is like this own little mystical eyelet. So to have something like that on a site like that is actually really, really magical. Mm-Hmm.

Kerry-Jane (29:19):

Yeah. And we also had the magical of experience of when we first installed it, of staying there for a few days. Oh lovely. Which was lovely. Yeah.

Karen (29:27):

And Vic said something nice from Jersey Heritage. He, he said, when we were talking about that site, he said he was looking out the window and he just saw Coran there drying, drying its wings. And then now in within the space we've got a big sculpture of a coran drying its wings, which has got sort of kelp, seaweed wings. So he just said, oh, when I saw that I was just like, yes, <laugh>. Yes. It's like you are interacting inside, but you're seeing the outside and all the creatures and seaweed and coast. It's all kind of comes together somehow. Yeah.

Natasha (29:57):

So every aperture, every window, the case and in the castle every, you know, is is framing that landscape completely. And actually when we walked up to the opening of the exhibition, we were met with the chorus, the oyster catchers. <Laugh>. It's just brilliant

Karen (30:12):

As well.

Mel (30:13):

Yeah. They're so lovely, aren't they? You can hear them from a while off. They're lovely. Yeah. Well it also sounds like you've put this together from your heart. This is something that's meant a lot to all of you, so it obviously shines through just from the way you're talking about it. So I can only imagine what it must be like to experience it.

Kerry-Jane (30:28):

Yeah. Like Natasha said, I think we've all been quite emotional about it, you know, it has, it's felt so lovely.

Mel (30:34):

And what do you think you have learned or taken away from it? I guess creatively and personally

Kerry-Jane (30:41):

Collaborative work for me. Yeah. I've, I've absolutely loved working with these five other women. It's been wonderful.

Natasha (30:48):

Absolutely. I second that for sure. And I think slowness to, we've allowed ourselves time. It's quite unusual. Yeah. Normally an a project would happen quite quickly, maybe over six months. Yeah. Maybe even less. And an exhibition would be up for a short time. And actually this is to, to allow us is a real ourselves to work in this way. It's a real gift actually because then you can create those deep connections with each other, but also with the subject matter. And I think that that's what shines through and it's, and it's nice. We have a worked out of our comfort zone a little bit on, you know, so it's, you know, and, and sometimes the outcome isn't, you know, if you were working alone, it isn't absolutely what, how you would do something, but giving into that is really healthy. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>.

Mel (31:37):

Yeah, absolutely.

Karen (31:38):

Well yeah, I think we've definitely challenged each other and we've, you know, we've had to work through some stuff as well, but I think, yeah,

Kerry-Jane (31:43):

It kind of pushed the ego to the side.

Karen (31:46):

Yeah. And I think, yeah, I would, I think in terms of, I think like we were able to be authentic through this and like say take our time because I think so much, and actually the arts can be the worst place that does this. It's very much as much as it will preach. You know, not production production, production production and this kind of very kind of extractive nature actually. I think often, you know, you are put in that position as an artist and actually to be able to take our time to work together and not be competitive with one another. So all of these things that, you know, in the modern world are often at play as kind of extractive come competition, capitalism. Like actually to kind of work together without the ego to work with slow time in relation in a non extractive way. It feels like quite a privilege to be able to have worked like that, if I'm honest. I feel like, and it feels like so needed for all of our souls and you know, so for me it feels like, yeah, quite ama you know, revolutionary in that way. Like, it, it is quite amazing to be able to work in, in this way. Amazing.

Mel (32:54):

So obviously this particular exhibition is in situ right now. Sorry, whoever's listening to this in the future and you miss it, but what do we, what are you hoping to do in terms of the future of the material that you've put together? Because a lot of the stuff you've created, it is timeless. You've got a film, you have textiles, you have songs. What, what are you hoping to do with this?

Natasha (33:15):

Well hopefully if you're listening in the future you'll be able to see the film and <laugh> and listen to the music. But, so it will exist on the Moving Arts Collective website, but I think this is an exhibition that can potentially tour. So we're just looking at what those opportunities are. Film festivals, film festival, film festivals. Yeah, I think

Karen (33:32):

The songs, I think, I mean we did have an idea for the songs 'cause I think we started playing with movement and I think I did have this idea, well I think Esther, we've all talked about it, about the songs and movement actually that becoming part of a wider community project where people could learn the songs and learn movement that we could perform in a bigger, outside of our collective in the kind of wider community.

Natasha (33:54):

Well the songs are an earworm, aren't they? <Laugh> we listen to them editing the film. I'm like, they're so in me also having sung them. So I think they will ex exist in our community, but they like it or not get them on Spotify. <Laugh>, I

Kerry-Jane (34:06):

Was out there this morning just checking on something and the guy working out there was turning all the speakers on and as he left the building he was humming it. <Laugh>

Natasha (34:20):

<Laugh>. I was gonna ask for a little tion, but we got, I went and then I think, you know, the lovely thing as well about the sculptures is if we wanted to send them off to sea, they would do no harm at the end of everything. Yeah. You know, they would gradually disintegrate back into the landscape they came from. Oh, that's a ritual in itself. Exactly. So, you know, there, there may be is a procession at the end of this back out to Seymour Tower

Mel (34:47):

Emotional

Natasha (34:49):

Send them on their way. But and

Kerry-Jane (34:51):

All the fabric came from charity shop so it can go back there as well.

Natasha (34:54):

<Laugh>.

Karen (34:56):

And I think there was something about becoming the creatures as well. I was just thinking about that. We really did try and like embody that movement and, and there is something quite beautiful about Yeah. 'cause The sculptures are costumes, but they're, yeah. It's just something about being able to kind of embody that different perspective as well. I think that

Natasha (35:15):

They're, they're in all of us, aren't they? Yes. Different characters we play and I think

Kerry-Jane (35:19):

We were thinking about that aspect for people being down in that, into title landscape and that there's a slightly disquieting feel to some of the sound and, and some of the image as well perhaps. That when you are in that landscape there would've been strange noises and you would it slightly otherworldly feel of it. And that communication with those creatures would just sort of cross over and come together. So yeah. That's

Mel (35:48):

Lovely. Really cool. And I guess my last question is, what are you hoping that people that experience your exhibition come away with

Kerry-Jane (36:01):

The scent of seaweed? <Laugh> <laugh> will happen. They'll

Speaker 8 (36:07):

Definitely come away with that. Yes, definitely.

Kerry-Jane (36:09):

There's been a few comments about that in the book, <laugh>,

Mel (36:14):

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