Where do you come from? Who were your ancestors? Why are you the way you are? An elder of the Marapu tribe in Indonesia described living without knowledge of your ancestors or their land as being “like a nut without the shell”. Does ancestral continuity give you strength, meaning? A sense of belonging or acceptance? Blood ties aren’t always the strongest and don’t have to define you. You have the power to write your own story and hand down a future you would be proud to inherit.

Forget chucking the telly out the window, if you want to be the ultimate rebel, you'll REST.  Rest has always been an essential part of the life cycle, but thanks to industrialisation, capitalism and consumer culture; endless growth and productivity are what we are told to aspire to. But we discover at our own peril what happens if we get rid of recovery and rest. Our wise animal bodies function at a fraction of their capacity, or not at all without the time and space to rest. Rest is not a luxury, it’s a necessity, an essential.

Who are we without our memories? My Father was diagnosed with dementia some time before I began this Spell. During the slow process of its creation he moved into a care home and passed away. Coming back to work on this painting during those months was a helpful way to process what was going on and gave me space to wonder about memory. Who are we when the memories fade? What really matters in the end?  

Here’s a confession…

I often equate my worth as my productivity or my financial earning. Even writing this makes me REALLY ANGRY!

I’ve done loads of work on this, it’s partly our capitalist society, how I was raised and my character. Changing the default setting is incredibly hard. We are wired to stay the same, it doesn’t matter what it is you’re trying to change, or how simple it is. It involves some level of reprogramming, which is deep intentional work. Magic, some might say…