Ithell Says is a short film produced from footage generated in 2013 during WE ARE NOT PETRIFIED : a collaborative project with artist Ann Haycock, with invited guests poet Alyson Hallett, dancers Helen Musser and Tina Cockett, the Penzance Guizers, and the Turkey Rhubard Guize Band.

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Earlier in the year Anne, Alyson and I had worked together on a project responding to The Merry Maidens  - a Bronze-age stone circle, in Penwith, Cornwall. The circle is also known as Dans Maen, which means Stone Dance in the Cornish Language. Local legend about the stones say that a long time ago there was once a Saturday night girl’s party that went on past midnight. As it was considered to be un-Christian to be dancing on the Sabbath, the dancing maidens were turned to stone for their irreverent behaviour.

 

The first iteration of our collaboration, WE ARE PETRIFIED, was presented in Helston Museum.  The second was presented in the Newlyn Art Gallery as part of the annual Transitions programme, where selected artists were offered the chance to test ideas in a gallery setting. This iteration was called WE ARE NOT PETRIFIED.  

 

While researching the latter, I came across Ithell Colquhoun’s book, The Living Stones, in a second hand book shop. Having never heard of Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988) I started rooting about for more information and discovered she has a couple of paintings in Truro Museum and Art Gallery, which I went to look at. I also discovered that Penlee Gallery in Penzance had one of her works in their stores. I made an appointment to see ‘Potentate II’ and documented our first very exciting encounter with this work in the basement of Penlee Gallery. We all became quite obsessed with Ithell!

 

I also tracked her work to Lanhydrock House, owned by the National Trust, to whom Ithell had bequeathed her artwork after her death. I was not given permission to view the work which was rumoured to be neglected, piled up in a shed. At that time Ithell was largely ignored and her work was not valued. This was about to change.

 

A  request to borrow the work 'Potentate II' from Penlee Art Gallery for our residency in Newlyn Art Gallery was granted and Potentate II joined us for the week. We all felt as though Ithell, who described herself as a ‘poet of words and images’, and had a strong interest in the occult, was with us in spirit, and her presence stronly  influenced our twprk.

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