Animist Workshop with Simon Yuill

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to work with artist Simon Yuill on an animist workshop at Peacock Visual Art’s The WORM.

“The exhibition “Raik” by Simon Yuill is a study of the Raik Road area in Aberdeen looking at its development since the end of the Ice Age in terms of what the artist calls a metabolic animism. This looks at the area as a site of metabolic flows and processes that have changed over time.” To read more about it, click here – https://peacockvisualarts.com/simon-yuill-raik/

Simon explained the 5 different time periods in the exhibition – each of which had a beautifully made cloak that you can see some of the children wearing in the photographs below – mesolithic (early stone age), Pictish, the Herring boom, North Sea Oil and the future. I then told the story of a spoiled chieftain’s son who had to survive alone in a mysterious landscape.
The children were then able to make animal masks which they were able to take home with them. We then created a story which saw a young girl slip back in time to the mesolithic. (Watch this space for the story!)

I’d like to thank all the children and parents were involved and especially Simon for asking me along to provide the traditional storytelling element. Thanks of course to those at Peacock and The Worm as well!