Leading visual artist and creative campaigner Arabel Lebrusan revealed the site-specific installation of 100+ ceramic swallows with engraved tin beaks during a recent programme of arts called Dartmoor Clayscapes: Empathetic Journeys through Clay.
The sculptures, described by Lebrusan as “symbols of migration, memory and belonging,” were developed through a series of co-creation clay and tin workshops for refugees with Beyond Borders, local schoolchildren and families. The interactive sessions were led by Lebrusan herself and ceramicist Kate Lyons-Miller.
Formed from Dartmoor’s ancient clay and local Ashburton tin, HomeLAND draws directly on the land’s geological and cultural history to explore the shifting meanings of ‘home’ – past, present, and future.
Installed in the shade of an ancient hornbeam tree, the expanse of vertical sticks topped with small swallow sculptures is conceived to evoke a forest of stillness for a species constantly in motion. The installation is site-specific to the developing gardens of Southcombe Barn, an arts and artist residency space in rural Dartmoor.
HomeLAND is the central project of Dartmoor Clayscapes: Empathetic Journeys through Clay. This programme of arts, curated by Vashti Casinelli, also features Florence Peake and Iman Datoo. Over the first weekend in July, it comprised of workshops, interactive performance and film. Engaging with the materiality of clay ‘kinaesthetically’, it invites us to reflect on contemporary issues of migration and ecological crisis, supporting the development of empathic responses to both human and more-than-human forms of life.
Following unfruitful pursuits of traditional project funding, Lebrusan launched a DIY crowdfunding campaign in June to cover the costs of this socially engaged art project. Retrospectively, these costs include the clay and tin used to form the 140 bird sculptures, transport, firing of the clay, Lebrusan and Lyons-Miller’s time spent leading the co-creation workshops, promotional material and photography, and installation of the work in Southcombe Barn’s grounds.
Donors are invited to champion the project with donations from £10. As a gesture of gratitude, Lebrusan is offering collectors a one-of-a-kind bird sculpture in return for donations above £50; tangible legacy of this socially engaged art project.