Vein 2007 Historically in Scotland red wool wound around pieces of rowan were frequently used to protect against witchcraft, they were attached to babies' cradles and little wooden crosses wrapped with wool were kept in a pocket or sewn into the lining of clothing. The witchcraft trial of Margaret Barclay in 1613 refers to this custom. The only talisman that they discovered in her possession was a thread bound cross of rowan; the very thing superstition believed would protect her from what she herself was being accused of, witchcraft. The discovery of the charm was enough to condemn her as it was a symbol of non Christian belief and she was, as so many other innocent people, executed. The old saying “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” would seem to sum up her case. The house used in my images, located in the middle of a forest,( the forest being a place to become physically lost and psychologically found) is known as Keiselghur, this is the German name for Diatomite, which was extracted from this site during the First and Second World War,used in both stabilizing nitroglycerine and as an absorbent used in wound dressing an interesting substance used in both destruction and repair…… contradictions along with the notions of protection and abandonment present in all of these elements; the red wool, the old house and its location in the forest are addressed in this body of work |