Underworld is a project by Shallal Studios artists exploring bats and seaweed. Over eight months 74 artists and 85 school children researched and developed work through a series of workshops that explored Cornwall’s natural world - low beneath the surface of the sea and high into the night sky. The multi-sensory project was led by the artists’ research, coming together through two exhibitions at Kresen Kernow & Falmouth Art Gallery, an e-book and a printed zine.
Some of the highlights from the project included: Night walks - artists took bat detectors out into the landscape to research bat sounds that informed their work back in the studio. These collected sounds led to Amy Lawrence creating a series of bat techno pieces that were used in a series of workshops in schools across Cornwall where 85 students responded to the sounds by creating ‘bat graphic scores’. Seaweed workshops - took artists to the beach where they explored seaweed through play, drawing and underwater filming. This research led to an intensive series of screen printing workshops that introduced the artists to a new medium of working and led to outstanding textile work. Poetry & drawing workshops - exploring the relationship between words and drawings, this workshop was led by Shallal artist Zoe Wilton and invited artists to create poetry inspired by bats and then transform their words into comic strips. Bat song writing- Shallal artist Eddie Callis led a workshop at Back Lane West Gallery inviting artists to collectively create a song inspired by bats. During the workshop, the artists created and recorded their bat lyrics live. Eddie went on to produce the recordings with Stuart Blackmore, creating a bat track called ‘I detect a bat’ that brings together 13 artists from across Cornwall.
Many thanks to Arts Council England, Awards for All, The RTR Fund and FEAST for funding this project.
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