North Lincolnshire Museum are inviting people to dust off their brooms today and get in the mood for Hallowe’en by taking part in an online talk about witches by Artist in Residence Tracy Satchwill.
This evening’s theatrical event will mark the premiere of Tracy’s experimental film I Can See You, which is inspired by the book Lincolnshire Folklore, Witches and Devils collated by Ethel Rudkin in the 1920s.
Ethel’s books contained many spooky tales as well as charms to guard yourself from ill luck, such as taking a piece of thatch from a witch’s house, which supposedly protected you from her evil ways.
The atmospheric film features behaviour and attitudes towards accused witches of the 16th and 17th centuries, reflecting on our contemporary behaviours of ‘othering’.
Othering is where individuals or groups are attributed negative characteristics from another group or individual because of their beliefs or the way they look.
Tracy will also be talking about the challenges she has faced during lockdown, and for the first time all her works will be shown together –
• The ‘YAG House’ animation, created using the archive from Scunthorpe Youth Centre for the Iron Youth exhibition.
• The stunning artwork created using images from the collection for the front of North Lincolnshire Museum.
• ‘A House and A Husband’ animation, drawing on the Iron Stone Cottage and displays to give a playful insight into a woman’s perspective of cottage life in Scunthorpe between 1860 and 1960.
• Face filters created in Spark AR and available for sharing on Instagram, that challenge the user to look at the perspective of an accused witch.
The online event will take place today, 29 October, at 4pm – 5pm. You can join the event by clicking this link and watch on the Teams app or in your browser.
The Artist in Residence programme is funded by Arts Council England, through the Humber Museum Partnership, of which North Lincolnshire Museum is a partner.
