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INFO & CONTACT
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Lucy Cordes Engelman
Earth Remembered Me (love - lies - bleeding)
The Pole, Rotterdam
November 21 – December 10, 2021
. . . entities that might be dreaming us into being, or mourning our forgetfulness.
and
All ritual eventually leads to transformation.
Somewhere in the middle of my conversation with the geographer, he mentions that the stones are thought to have originally been reddish in color – that they may have been chosen for that precise reason.
I stop him and gently press a bit, “Why would red stones have been preferable?”
He gestures behind his desk to a large framed photograph of the giant megaliths arranged like long tables, tombs, or even temples, “Well, I mean, could the dolmens have been intended for blood sacrifice? Moon or menstrual ceremony? Are they intended to mark some deep water enigma or the threshold to another realm? We will never know. These ice rafted erratics are the oldest elements of this land, older than the soil itself. Stones brought by ancient glaciers, and later arranged for some unknown purpose. Red is a life force color – indeed, red would point to the possibility that this truly was a ritual landscape.”
Later in the evening, I cycle northwest and walk towards the stones. The lowering sun hits them, just as it has day after day for five thousand years. I lie down awkwardly by these formations, drawn to rest. Despite an uneasy solitude, I begin to drift to sleep in this remote forest…and earth remembers me, she takes me back so tenderly.*
Earth remembered me / purple flowers everywhere / ode to a ritual landscape / love - lies - bleeding:
This project is possible thanks to the support of CBK Rotterdam, Katrina Niebergal, and Daniel Mullen. Deep gratitude as well for the inspiring work of Betye Saar, Mary Oliver, Bhanu Kapil, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ariana Reines, Jen Calleja, Francesca Lisette, Igor Yachmenov, and Walter + Luce Maioli.
*line from Sleeping in the Forest by Mary Oliver
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Lucy Cordes Engelman grew up in the US where the Anacostia and Potomac rivers meet and is now based in Rotterdam. Lucy engages with her material as a collaborator, always aware of its own distinct and independent power. Film, video, writing, and performance are central to her practice — she is currently working with themes of ecological mysticism in relation to premodern times.
lucycordesengelman.com
@luciabellaaa
Earth Remembered Me (love - lies - bleeding), 2021
wooden flagpole, died wool, dried love-lies-bleeding flowers,
dried dahlias, dried roses, thread
dimensions variable
Projection: Super 8mm film transferred to HD, colour, 5 minutes, 21 seconds,
with audio arrangement (1 hour, 20 minutes, looped)