The new moon in Aries (April 7th 2016)

This session was hosted by Andrea Williamson who focussed on dream wisdom and the potential of active imagination. This was the last session in the lead up to the Our House of Common Weeds exhibition which opened Friday 27th October 2017. We looked at cross cultural examples of visions, waking dreams and the mythopoetic function in “The waking dream in ethnographic perspective” by Douglass Price-Williams, and discussed the limited interactions of altered states of consciousness such as dream states with social and political life in the West. We considered the case of “Jamake Highwater” who made false claims of Native American heritage and authority throughout his artistic career and whether the bifurcation of rational and intuitive mind states leads to some harmful shadow figures. We also engaged some active imagination through play with plasticine to uncover spaces, places and times that bring dream wisdom back into our lives. This goes into the history of Jamake Highwater’s identity myth: https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/arts-entertainment/fools-gold-the-story-of-jamake-highwater-the-fake-indian-who-wont-die/ Image Credit: Andrea Williamson, 2017

This session was hosted by London-based collective, Fourthland, who focussed on nomadic householding as contemporary social feminist practice. We read sections of the texts, 'Householding amid global crisis' and 'Queering the intimate' by V Spike Peterson, followed by collective improvisation around ideas of kinship involving writing exercices on imagined doors and windows. The workshop used bundles created by the artists as substance for improvisation. Read V Spike Peterson on Global Householding here: http://www.e-ir.info/2010/03/30/global-householding-the-good-the-bad-and-the-uncomfortable/ Image Credit: Fourthland, 2017

This session was hosted by London-based Artist, Carl Gent who discussed their ongoing rehistoricisation of the biography of Cynethryth, 8th century Queen of Mercia. Together we read Audre Lorde's essay 'The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House' and 'Material Memoirs', a chapter from Stacy Alaimo's book 'Bodily Natures'. We also looked at the music and methodology of folk musician Shirley Collins, and shared some Harvey's best bitter. Read Audre Lorde's essay here: http://bixby.ucla.edu/journal_club/Lorde_s2.pdf Listen to Shirley Collins here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-hHYGLUHtw Image Credit: Carl Gent, 2017