LORE at Sunny Bank Mills

Sunny Bank Mills presents the perfect exhibition for the autumn season – LORE explores folklore in its contemporary manifestations from UK-based artists.

The pieces in the show were gathered through a call out where 500 entries were eventually whittled down to the final 14. The resulting display is a satisfying mix of practices and perspectives, making LORE anything but predictable. It offers a fresh view of the concept of folklore through modern approaches while remaining true to its roots: stories passed down through generations. From a travelling museum to yarn creatures and ritual sites, the exhibition is a peek into the mysterious and constantly evolving world of folklore.

Sonia Moran, Arts Engagement Co-ordinator and LORE Co-Curator explains: “Folklore is essentially stories. We create stories with creatures and characters to explain difficult and important events that happen in life, to grapple with complicated emotions and to give those feelings a narrative of their own. The work in the exhibition was selected because it really explores the multi-layered narrative of folklore.” The selected artists then, are excellent storytellers. Let’s take a closer look at a couple of the works on display.

Woo Jin Joo was born in Seoul and works with textiles and embroidery. Her East Asian heritage informs her ideas, focused on myth-making and the combination of traditional folklore with her own, contemporary experience. Her work often features otherworldly creatures, part-animal and part-deities: one of her works in LORE is part of her Dokkaebis project for which the artist creates ‘Korean Goblins’ said to possess inanimate objects. Here, it’s in the form of an endearing (and disconcerting) four-legged, sock-wearing creature, with fluffy blue yarn covering its back.

Libby Bove is an artist known in folklore circles, reviving old customs to bring magic back to everyday life. Her project The Museum of Roadside Magic is a travelling archive and display set up in a van (complete with a gift shop in the attached caravan) which holds a collection of objects related to magical practice and folk custom in the maintenance of vehicles. Bove focuses on journeys and the road as a site of ritual.

The other exhibiting artists are: Adam Hogarth, Alfred Beesley, Herfa Martina Thompson, Jihyun Kim, Karen Okpoti, Kit George, Lunatraktors, Sally Barton, Olana Light, Tom Glencross, Yeu-Lai Mo and Yvadney Davis.

LORE reflects our fascination with ancient rituals and stories, whilst going even further to show how these can be useful in creating new ways of thinking about our beliefs and rites today.