A Visit to The Oracle with Alice Instone
We sit down with the artist behind the latest immersive installation at Borough Yards...
December 5, 2023
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
Working with Illuminate Productions, Alice Instone has converted a vacant railway arch in the heart of the city into a dreamlike sanctuary exploring womanhood, tenderness, nature and our relationship to self. We were lucky enough to chat with Alice and take a tour of her latest exhibition currently showing in Dirty Lane, Borough.
The exhibition is centred around your film Oracle which won Cannes Film Festival’s Gold Award for Best Fantasy Film. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
I was thinking about pilgrimages and how fun it would be to visit an Oracle, and how we probably just go to shopping centres now, so I made the first Birdwoman. Once she was sitting in the studio with the other sculptures, I began to want to bring her to life which is how the film began. Seven minutes long, the film employs a blue moon as a motif to undertake a metaphorical journey through emotions and thoughts we might want to keep secret - sadness, anger, fear of the unknown and even the hereafter. Oracle celebrates analogue over tech and storytelling over information; these cloak an underlying seriousness of purpose; a belief that we deeply crave sincerity, dignity, aestheticism, purity and otherworldly comfort, an escape from the drab and petty. We should allow ourselves to experience hope, renewal and beauty.
These themes are often explored in tarot cards which are a central element of this exhibition, offering visitors a reading in the oracle’s den with a deck you designed for the five-year anniversary of Playing Cards With My Grandmother. What drew you to using tarot cards within your work?
I first used tarot cards in Playing Cards With My Grandmother, which was created to celebrate International Women’s Day for the United Nations in 2018. In this era of uncertainty, the cards conjure a wise and loving Grandmother’s advice. The age-old practice of gazing at the cards and their archetypal images offers clarity and calm in an uneasy time.
Your work centres around womanhood, particularly the grandmother. Was your grandmother a prominent figure in your life?
Yes, Erica lived next door and I often stayed with her. We liked playing cards. It was about being together without the need for conversation but with space for it if we wanted. Games remind us of what we have in common, and the cards are an attempt to realise and recapture some of the essence of what my grandmothers offered through images and messages; advice, experience, continuity and comfort. Erica’s house was always the same which I loved, she smoked ginseng cigarettes while watching the cricket. She was very well-read, loved cats and I also lived with her briefly.
In the exhibition, visitors can share memories by writing in The Book of Grandmothers; what is the purpose of the book?
Our grandmothers didn’t have anything like the freedom we enjoy now but they were, and are, incredibly inspiring, powerful women who often profoundly influence us. Grandmothers have experienced the world in such different times, so they have a very different perspective - which can be helpful- if they remember their own grandparents, that’s an amazing timespan. They’re also survivors of war and huge social change, and sometimes are in less of a hurry. The book is a collection of memories written by visitors. A unique record and testament to the wisdom, strength, love, patience… stoicism and reassurance of those who’ve gone before us.
If you look closely at The Grandmother’s Garden Collages, you can see the names of women written, almost threaded like the spider’s web, throughout the collage. Are these your forbearers?
My female ancestors, yes.
Does this parallel between the solace found in nature as well as in the grandmother relate to your large-scale collages?
There is a quote from the School of Life: “The pleasure we take in the idea of the grandmother is a way of acknowledging how much we actually like tenderness”. Grandmother’s Garden is an emblem for the idea of nature as an antidote to the fallacy we can control everything. The grandmother's garden is essentially safe and constrained but with jungly corners and the potential to encounter lurking creatures. It’s a transitional space of comfort and shadows.
What is the role of recording in your work for instance The Book of Grandmothers and The Book of Self-loathing?
The recordings are a way of sharing collective knowledge. And the process of writing is incredibly soothing for people I think.
Is folklore and magic a strong source of inspiration for your work?
I think folklore, magic and art all come from the same root.
And how important do you think art is as a vehicle for healing?
One of art’s primary functions is healing -whether consciously or unconsciously- often it’s the artist healing themself, then it’s a way of sharing experience.
Would you consider yourself a witch?
In my imagination absolutely I’m a witch.
A Visit to The Oracle is an interactive exhibition offering an enchanting journey exploring illusion, ritual, mystery and magic. Open until 17th December on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 till 7pm, and Sundays until 6pm. At Dirty Lane (Unit 210), Borough Yards, Borough, SE1 9AD.
