When approaching the Being Human project I decided to look into personal connections and heritage through researching how it is unique to each individual person.
First looking at my community and its history, I took to local folklore from around the area of Ross-shire, Highlands, and how these stories have been passed down through generations. The predictions of the Brahan Seer and the visions seen through his stone were particularly interesting. I replicated the stone in such a way as to question whether this object is real or fake, such as with the stories of the Brahan seer as the tales have only been passed down through word of mouth.
The Folk Archive by Jeremy Delleer and Alan Kane and the community performances/events that they documented inspired me to continue on exploring folk art and the communities surrounding it. Extending my research through my family connections up in Orkney I reached out to find any events that are specific to the island. After having discovered South Ronaldsay’s Festival of the Horse, I created my own costume similar to those worn at the festival. Wanting to create a surreal environment I enlarging the size of the props and brought them out of context to create confusion and obscurity to something that is seen as a normal occurrence specific to a single community, as well as bring a playful enjoyment to the viewer as to share the experience of participating in the event. With no context it also shows the significance of heritage being lost to time and how events like the horse festival are slowly losing its place in the modern day world, not fitting into contemporary society as more people disconnect and become less interested in preserving their heritage.