‘STRANGERS’ 

A 6 piece art trail for b-side Festival -2016

In 2016 I was commissioned to create public artworks for the b-side festival on Portland, Dorset. I spent several months researching the folklore, traditions and history of the Island at both the Dorchester Museum and the Dorset History Centre; before creating site specific artworks that were embedded into the Island’s landscape. I became fascinated with this closed and isolated community and the unusual social behaviours of the Portlanders which Hardy described as a ‘Curious and well- nigh distinct people, cherishing strange beliefs and singular customs.’

My art trail was called ‘Strangers’ as a reference to a graveyard I discovered on the island called the ‘Strangers Cemetery‘ where people were buried who were not native to Portland. These people, known locally as ‘Kimberlins’, were often the victims of the many shipwrecks off the Island. Each of the six pieces I subsequently created was inspired by a specific story, belief or custom that I interpreted using my own artworks.