Exmoor National Dress
2008 - 2009Project:
This solo film and photography project by Karen Guthrie was made for Triparks, a programme of 6 "artists' residencies to explore commonalities and differences between three of England's National Parks: Exmoor, Dartmoor and Northumberland".
Date: 2008-9
Commissioner: Aune Head Arts, Somerset Arts Work & Allenheads Contemporary Arts
I spent time throughout spring and summer 2008 in Exmoor National Park (Somerset). Myself and another artist, Harald Smykla were based in the Park, whilst Triparks had also commissioned Paul Grimmer, Bridget Kennedy, High Nankivell and Volkhardt Muller to work in Northumberland and Dartmoor.
For my project Exmoor National Dress, I
invented just that, a costume which I then used to make
photographic portraits of Exmoor people I've met along they way. I
also made a short film (20 mins) following the process of the
project and the people I met along the way.
Much of my time was spent on historic research and tracking down
local makers, like Tom Lock of Hawkridge who
carves and makes things with antlers. He contributed a head-dress
to the final costume, and you can find out more about Tom's
fascinating life here.
Other local contributors are landscapist Maurice Bishop and Shearwell Data, who make animal
eartags used in the costume as fixings.
From the links on the right you can see a gallery of the Exmoor
portraits I made, or look at some of my research, plus
documentation of a stand we did at the Dunster Show, a traditional
country event.
There was a preview of the finished project
in Dulverton Town Hall in late 2008 and the work was on show in
Somerset at the Brewhouse in Taunton before touring to the new
Duchy Centre in Princetown on Dartmoor in Devon.
It also showed in early 2010 in Newcastle at ACAdovetail, before going back to Dulverton on Exmoor for a summer outing.
