Just as the good folk at Weird Walk are all about a reconnection with nature through our own ancient past, Ben Edge (who has featured in their pages) creates images that reconnect us with nature through our traditions and folklore.
This handsome hardback presents us with a collection of over 200 of Edge's paintings and photographs alongside real-life stories, anecdotes and legends. Edge, a self-proclaimed folklore activist, sees the current folk revival as representing a desire to seek new ways of envisioning community and caring for and connecting to nature. Through his own work, he adds a richness and tangibility to this growing interest - here are the dates, the people, the places, a proper non-conformist calendar of events that are laid out before us.
The book begins with a Spring Equinox celebration in London's Tower Hill and ends back at the beginning, with the all-female Boss Morris' spring equinox rituals, performed on a field in Gloucestershire. Between, you'll find Burrymen, Obby 'Osses, Pearly Kings and Queens, flaming tar barrels, mummers, wassailing, a Summer Solstice at Stone Henge and much, much more.
Folklore, and the traditions that surround them are alive and well in Great Britain, and Ben Edge's exploration of them through his incredible art has helped rekindle a flame in people's imaginations.
Size: 183 x 216mm (hardback)
Pages: 256
Publisher: Watkins
