Springtides Archipelago, Expemimentica Live Art Festival, Chapter Arts Centre
‘In Portugal, all along the coast of Wales, and on some parts of the coast of Brittany, a belief is said to prevail that people are born when the tide comes in, and die when it goes out.’
James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, 1890
A commission by Expermentica, Chapter Arts Centre Live Art Festival, 2018. This was a spoken word/performance which created an imaginary archipelago, a land that exists in myth, folkloric research, scientific fact, observed phenomena and the cult of the moon. It used the symbols of volcano, tidal wave, the moon and the sun. The narrative explored the archipelago potentially being inhabited by witches of Wales’ past, interwoven with songs and observations from personal experiences of motherhood, cycles, spinsters, web spinners and the folkloric meaning of crows in Sainsburys car park.
Review by CCQ Wales:
‘Small gestures, soft tunes, and the singsong lilt of Thomas’ voice, as we followed her on a journey of sorts. Thomas also made use of cardboard cutouts, but these were benign representations of nature, and without ominous fangs. Part academic research paper, part journal of maternity, part lullaby, it was lyrical, gently humorous and, despite my inept description, not as away with the fairies as you might think and the occasional singing was beautiful and made me shiver.
Thomas evoked the dream-like state that pregnancy and early motherhood can prompt: conversations with an unborn child; an acute awareness of the moon in its various transitory states; the pause at the tide’s turn (a pregnant pause, perhaps?) and more prosaic matters, like supermarket shopping, butter-making and getting the washing done. The dream-like passages were interspersed with reported humorous commentary from her toddler, and with practical descriptions of nature and traditional women’s work, before spooling off into shamanistic journeys, full of spirit animals giving advice. I left feeling that I’d just had a very refreshing drink.’
