SPIRITUALITY: Curated by Angelo Madonna
Spirituality forms the third and last chapter in Material Matters’ multi-disciplinary response to the medieval tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The poem reminds us that art and spirituality are not separate realms but intertwined aspects of the human experience.
For this exhibition artists explore the mysteries of existence, confront our fears and desires, and seek meaning in a world that often opposes easy comprehension.Just as Sir Gawain embarks on his quest with courage and integrity, artists will engage with their work and embark on a spiritual journey of self-discovery, growth, and enlightenment.
THE THREE BLOWS: A VIEW OF LIFE AND DEATH (2024)
Conceived and directed by Angelo Madonna. Filmed and edited by Patric Rogers. Featuring: Craig Sinclair as Gawain.
In the installation depicting Sir Gawain’s encounter with the Green Knight, the three blows symbolise the journey of life, its trials, and the inevitability of death. Displayed on two separate monitors showing the front and back of Gawain, the installation suggests he is enclosed within this moment, contained in the ritual of life and death. His figure becomes a metaphor for humanity’s resilience, facing mortality with honour and humour.
Chivalry: Curated by John Elcock
Chivalry forms the second chapter in our multi-disciplinary response to the medieval tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Artists explore the contemporary value of codes of conduct, in a world where the quest for honour must necessarily give way to the search for truth and to processes of becoming.
BOD_J_ECT: CONVERSATIONS AND SONGS (2022) Film
Bod _ j _ ect is a romance story of a knight encountering an object that has been rejected, after having played its function as dunnage bag for the human transportation of goods. This knight falls in love with the object, taking it with it and injecting it with a new, creative, and sustainable life. It narrates the dialogue between its materials, and how with ‘them’ it is possible to create different affective dynamics, considering how their texture, weight and symbolism may transform their perception.
Above:Image taken from Gallery two.
Media: Video monitor.
THE ALCHEMY OF BLOOD AND RENEWAL (2024)
In a tale reminiscent of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the blood-soaked earth undergoes a mystical alchemical process, transforming death into new life. The blood, like the prima Materia in alchemy, nourishes the soil and brings forth a golden egg through the power of the five virtues.
Above:Image taken from Gallery One. Projection in the background: Animation by Silvia Battista.
Media:Mild steel plate- soil - Golden egg - metal stand - glass funnel - stage blood.
‘Nature’: curated by Patric Rogers
LUD’S CHURCH (2024)
Media: Six vintage slide viewers, light
The poetics of viewing slides of Lud’s church through a vintage slide viewer is an evocative journey through time and space. The viewer becomes a portal, transforming static images into living memories. Each scene invites the viewer to reflect on the passage of time and its traces on the land.
Above: View of the artwork in Gallery three.
Above: Audience experiencing the artwork at the opening night
Above: two digital images of Lud's church viewed through the vintage slide viewers
ECHOS AND RESONANCE (2024)
Media: Mild steel plate, monochord speakers, media player
Above: view of the artwork in Gallery One.
Water is alive, pulsing with the echos and resonance of ancient tales. In each ripple of the well Echos and Resonance carries voices speaking of the Green Knight’s challenge to Sir Gawain.
The wind whispers through the trees a watery song, about nature and legends speaking of the courage of the wild forces of the earth. The essence of the story lives on in the land, a testament of the enduring bond between the human and the more-than-human.
Above: Nature-Opening night)
Above:frequencies resonating in water
'Into the Wyld'(2024)
Into the Wyld is a festival of contemporary art at the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum which explores the continuing legacy of the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and its unique connection to the Wirral.
Our artists seek to rediscover, through the rich tapestry of Gawain’s poem, the ancient function of artistic practices as gestures of reverence for the cyclical nature of life, where the ancient and the contemporary converge.
