DAISY CLARKE

A constant refrain within my practice and research has been the representation, and importance of representing, nature; recently I have been exploring this through the lens of witchcraft, spiritualism and folklore. Using crystals, herbalism, tree lore, the tarot and folktales as sources of inspiration and functioning elements in my creative process, their intense symbolism is translated into my paintings, relief prints and drawings. This allows the process of creating a piece of work to become a form of ritual, a magical act that transforms the artist, artwork and audience with each step, particularly with the process of printmaking as it requires such intense levels of labour, planning and precision.      

With my woodblock print, ‘The High Priestess’ (2020), the ritual of my process took flight as this was an extremely complicated choice of material and method. I carved the image progressively out of three separate lime woodblocks and printed them in four colours to form a single linear image of a tiger, The High Priestess, pausing among moonlit trees and foliage. Each element plays an integral role in the process and outcome of this piece: the tiger symbolises similar traits as the tarot card of the title, like feminine power, intuition and strength, and so I could select the oak and elder trees, mugwort and pennyroyal plants as they are used in herbalism to instil these properties.      

Witchcraft, spiritualism and folklore have all come to light in a powerful resurgence since the turn of the twenty-first century and I think it is important to discuss why. This is evident through the abundance of exhibitions, authors and artists exploring the subject, such as Pam Grossman, Silvia Federici and Juliana Huxtable and exhibitions such as Waking The Witch. Often, issues such as feminism and anti-capitalism are raised via discussing the figure of the witch and human effect on the environment; issues that are important to the research and outcomes involved in my practice. All these elements link back to one thing: the fabric of the land we live on, Mother Earth. I suggest there is an underlying urge to reconnect with this land and rediscover the natural power and beauty of it amidst the technologically driven landscape humans have moulded upon it.      

Considering the contemporary context of attempting to reconnect with nature, one must consider the climate crisis and the fact that there is potentially equal, if not greater, power in the natural energies of the physical and metaphysical world as there is in the technological and industrial world and that this could be the way forward, combating the climate crisis, rather than even further capitalist progress in technology. I question whether art is a more effective way of imparting these narratives in present culture than through science and whether my practice can have agency within this. My work sits within the notion of contemporary folklore and I am utilising my practice to reconnect with the natural world in such a disconnected society and as a medium for reconnecting others too as I believe it is needed now more than ever.

I have also begun to use crochet and embroidery as a creative outlet and beginnings of my business DaisyByNature. I create unique designs to express my ideas through tangible garments, pendants and embroidered artwork.