Burned Bright
with Lady Kitt, Bethany Stead and Sarah Li
A socially engaged commission by
Thought Foundation, Birtley ,UK
as part of CRAFT,
Feb-April, 2020
Creating a giant paper installation (a collaboratively made, Joss inspired shrine to endangered animals and disappearing environments), followed by ceremonial paper burning.
Title: Burned Bright- shrine to endangered animals and disappearing environments. Images and video by Sarah Grundy Li.
Date: Sat March 14th 2020
Times: 10:30- 15:45 drop in workshop
16:00- 16:30 ceremonial burning
Suspended from the ceiling in the Thought Foundation gallery, the installation grew throughout the day as each participant added their work. Using kirigami and origami techniques plus sticking, weaving and tearing, we created a collaborative art work representing endangered animals and disappearing natural environments. At 4pm, inspired by the Chinese Joss tradition of burning hand-made paper objects to honour spirits, we ceremonially burned the sculpture* in the Thought Foundation garden, simultaneously honouring the animals and environments we created during the day and highlighting current environmental disasters.
*Participants who did not wish their work to be burned took objects home with them at the end of the day.
Lady Kitt is a socially engaged maker, researcher and drag king, based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, working nationally and internationally. Kitt is interested in (gently) interrogating, illuminating & insighting the social functions of stuff that gets called art. They use collaborative crafting, including giant origami, to share un/ undertold stories including LGBTQ+history, disability arts and environmental issues.
Bethany Stead is an art maker based in Newcastle upon Tyne. With collected research of personal histories, traditional craft and common folklore, she aims to address themes of class, sexuality and gender, especially in social and community settings. During 2019 she was one of 5 early career social practice artists to be part of professional development project "Socially Awkward" with The New BridgeProject, Newcastle.
Sarah Li is an interdisciplinary artist who works in sound, performance, theatre and music with a focus on worldmaking- creating an idealised alternative for living in or dealing with society. Sarah is one of the co-founders of the DGA collective, an alternative drag performance group.
