Brought together by a common interest in the forest, Emily Hawes, Mark Langston & Eugenia Popesco have drawn on literary, archaeological and artistic references to explore overlapping enquiries into folklore, land rights and customs that shape the forest. The show is a testbed for exploring new approaches within their practices, comprised of installation, print, sound and film work.
The Chace directly references artist and archaeologist Heywood Sumner’s tapestry of the same name (1908), who lived in the forest between 1904-1940. Alongside his prolific Arts and Crafts output, Sumner carried out pioneering archaeological discoveries, notably surveying the prehistoric earthworks at Cranborne Chase and across the New Forest.
Depicting a hunting scene where a young fallow deer is pursued by riders on horseback and hounds, Heywood’s tapestry (The Chace) romanticizes the medieval forest tradition of ‘hunting with the hounds’. The exhibition re-purposes this title to probe questions and themes that arise from the act of chasing itself; a methodology used throughout the centuries to eradicate, control and contain communities, animals and life-worlds within the forest.
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust, The New Forest Beekeepers Association, Arts University Bournemouth and The Artists Information Company (a-n).
(Spudworks, Station Rd, Sway, SO41 6BA)
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
“Eugenia Popesco’s work directly references Heywood Sumner’s The Chace Tapestry (1908). Imagery digitally abstracted from the tapestry is screen printed onto wooden cut outs, forming an installation influenced by mise-en-scéne set design. The installation acts as a simulacrum of the narrative contained within the weave of the tapestry, the hunt, considered a barbaric blood sport by many today. The title of the work, Vert & Venison, refers directly to the Norman Forest Law, ensuring exclusive hunting rights and preservation of the vert (trees and shrubs which provide a habitat for livestock such as deer in the forest) on the chase, to the king. The installation contrasts idyllic pastoral imagery with the sinister and the artificial. Popesco’s work critiques the pursuit of the vulnerable in this metaphoric piece, exploring conflicts within environmental exploitation and land rights.”
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston.
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: Screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston & Emily Hawes
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston & Emily Hawes
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston & Emily Hawes
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Emily Hawes
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.
Installation: screenprints on plywood (multiple dimensions) 2022
*Also including works by Mark Langston
With thanks to Hampshire Cultural Trust & Heywood Sumner.