Samhain
Samhain is the Celtic festival that we know more commonly as Halloween. Moving into winters darkness it’s a time of respecting the ancestors and recognising the transition as the leaves fall from the trees and the old year dies away. This video is a part of an eight part series made during the covid 19 pandemic that explores the seasonal festivals in the Celtic calendar and their customs. The video is set inside the neolithic burial chamber at Uley, locally known as Hetty Pegglars Tump
October 2020
Concept: Dougal Kirkland
Performance:Dougal Kirkland and Jasmine Marika
Film & Editing: Emlyn Bainbridge
Audio Production: Emlyn Bainbridge and Dougal Kirkland
Lughnassadh
Lughnassadh or Lammas is the festival celebration of the first harvest of the grain. The christian festival Lammas comes from old English words meaning ‘loaf’ and ‘mass’. The Celtic festival from which it derived celebrates the sun god Lugh and the spirit of the corn mother. The piece is set within the mysterious crop circles which appear in the first crops of Lammas and explores the customs and traditions of this festival. It is accompanied by a soundtrack created by music duo Orbury Common written for the piece. This is one of the eight video works made in a series exploring each of the seasonal folk festivals.
August 2020
Concept: Dougal Kirkland
Film: Dougal Kirkland
Sound: Orbury Common
Labyrinth
‘Labyrinth; a solstice celebration’ was a group exhibition and performance piece which brought together the customs and symbolism of the winter solstice and the descent into winter. The exhibition was curated by Dougal Kirkland and Zac Walsh and was hosted at Studio 18 in Stroud. The performance included an installation of a circle of speakers and lighting which draw inspiration from Newgrange; the neolithic Burial chamber in Ireland that is aligned with the winter solstice sunrise. The performance involved the live drawing and walking of a large scale labyrinth. It was accompanied by a live responsive soundtrack by music duo Orbury common.
December 2019
Concept: Dougal Kirkland
Performance: Dougal Kirkland, Camilla Simmons
sound: Orbury Common