The Learned Pig

Art – Thinking – Nature – Writing

Tag: ritual

  • 4 generations of women topography

    4 generations of women topography

    Fragments of text, film and photography: artist Tereza Stehlikova explores the bonds between the 4 women within her family.

  • Of Shadows

    Of Shadows

    One Hundred Objects from the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic Effigies, pentacles, masks and charms. Robes and blades, crosses and cauldrons. The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, Cornwall, is a treasure trove of magical objects and books dedicated to the history of British folk magic and other forms of popular spiritual belief. Photographer…

  • Being a Beast

    Being a Beast

    Mankind has celebrated a close connection with the animal kingdom since our Stone Age ancestors dressed in furs and painted bison on cave walls. Mythology abounds with tales of creatures which are half-man, half-beast, from werewolves to centaurs. In the transition from hunter-gatherers to city dwellers, we have gradually lost touch with the land, becoming…

  • Not Just Fir Christmas

    Not Just Fir Christmas

    The fir tree has had a part to play in traditional winter festivities across Northern Europe for centuries, and a plaque marks the spot where an evergreen was first displayed in Riga town square as part of Latvia’s New Year celebrations in 1510. Queen Victoria’s consort Prince Albert is credited with popularising the Christmas tree…

  • Medieval Graffiti – Charms and Curses

    Medieval Graffiti – Charms and Curses

    This month sees the publication of Matthew Champion’s Medieval Graffiti. The book is a fascinating tour through the centuries of hand-carved writing and art that adorns the walls of churches across the country. One of the key themes that emerges is an apparent lack of clear delineation between official and unofficial – in thought, word,…

  • Washing Hands

    Washing Hands

    About twenty years ago I met an Irish girl. She had grown up in the countryside on a farm and, when she told me about her childhood, it sounded like something out of Ryan’s Daughter. Quite the contrast to my own city childhood, growing up in London. These photographs are inspired by a story she…