After performing Mammoth Mountain live at a friend’s birthday party, sculptor Sarah Smith invited me to bring my sound(s) to a new scultpure exhibition Nature, skin and bones which will show at The Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes, Yorkshire Dales from 3 October – end December 2016.

This wonderful and unique opportunity to respond sensitively to sculpture has also involve collaborating with light and text artist Elisa Artesero. And the process have been rich and a bit radical.

We have spent time at Tom Lord’s wonderful Lower Winskill Farm. Tom farms Lower Winskill to encourage wildlife and protect the historic farming landscape so it has wild flower meadows with flowers that have been there for over 120,00 years. We know this because the fossilised hyena poo found in a nearby cave containing the seeds of the meadow flowers. We went caving, we walked the limestone rich land, we visited each others’ studios/working spaces. And then went away to create, with a solid connection and understanding for what we want the work to do.

Male brown bear skull and mandibles c 12,200 BC. Victoria Cave. Lord Cave Archive.
Male brown bear skull and mandibles c 12,200 BC. Victoria Cave. Lord Cave Archive.

Nature, Skin and Bones will therefore be an exhibition experience with sculpture, light (and shadows) and sound. We are sort of re-creating a cave atmosphere, we are sort of making a statement about nature, nurture, the interdependence of us with our much older, precious planet. Sound wise there will be three moments or sweet spots, using my voice, recordings I made in the caves, a deep drum and a deer toe shaker.

What is “nature” and our changing relationship with it?

I have been pondering recently that getting out to nature in England for me really means getting out to un-natural man-made landscapes with the prevalence of heather moorland and minus the many trees and wildlife that would make it more natural.

It’s a crazy wonderful. And I feel so lucky and privileged (holistically speaking) to have these opportunities.