Welcome (Sent Forever)
Beth Emily Richards
Goonhilly Village Green, 2019
Photo: Artur Tixiliski Goonhilly Village Green was an experimental project led by artists Sara Bowler and Elizabeth Masterton and produced by Field Notes. In 2019, 5 artists were commissioned to produce new art works and a programme of talks and workshops took place in locations on the Lizard and in nearby towns. The project culminated in The Gathering, a village fête style event on Goonhilly Downs, where artworks and information were shared and a range of activities invited people to engage in their own multi-layered exploration of this special place.
Welcome (Sent Forever)
Beth Emily Richards with Daisy Higman, Hum, and Chris Mayoh, 2019
Performance on the Village Green at solar noon (12.56), Hum choir, cosmic textile welcome mat
Beth was one of the five artists who worked with a local partner organisation or community group to create a new artwork reflecting different aspects of the cultural, ecological, historic and scientific contexts of Goonhilly Downs. The focus of her commission was creating a work that welcomed visitors to The Gathering; Beth worked with the Museum of Cornish Life in Helston where she spent time exploring their collection. She was particularly drawn to the traditions of Helston’s flora day, which welcomes in the return of spring each May, with influences from the motif of lily of the valley to the rhythms of processional music making their way into the artwork. She also researched the now defunct business Sent Forever (a paid service which offered customers the chance to send messages into space from the satellites at Goonhilly) and the concept of cosmic welcome mats (an open source design created to welcome alien life to earth). Welcome (Sent Forever) brings together seemingly disparate strands of research, to consider what it means to offer welcome across perceived boundaries.
The sung piece performed on Beth’s circular welcome mat was created collaboratively with Hum choir and composers Daisy Higman and Chris Mayoh. The lyrics are drawn from a variety of texts including: 1666 proto sci-fi The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish, messages from Sent Forever, articles about the Cosmic Welcome Mat, and Flora Day poems and songs.
Lyrics from Welcome (Sent Forever), as printed in The Goonhilly Chronicle, a commission by Phyllida Bluemel
Beth also held a series of workshops with Hum, the Penryn-based choir she worked with on the commission. Hum sing traditional and contemporary folk songs from around the world, including new music composed in Cornwall. They worked with Beth to write the lyrics and with composer and voice coach Daisy Higman to rehearse for the choral work, Welcome (Sent Forever) in a series of practical workshops. Using a cut up technique, the group united seemingly disparate strands of Beth’s research, including: Helston’s flora day and the welcoming of spring; processional music in Cornish and British folk customs; sending messages to the heavens from the dishes of Goonhilly, and ‘cosmic welcome mats’ welcoming alien life to earth.
The specially designed textile piece from the performance was exhibited at Unbounded, an exhibition at the Eden Project, with an audio recording of the song available for visitors to listen to through headphones whilst standing on the welcome mat.
Welcome (Sent Forever) cosmic mat exhibited at Unbounded, photo Steve TannerFUNDERS AND PARTNERS
Goonhilly Village Green was an artist led project initiated by Sara Bowler and Elizabeth Masterton, it was supported by funds from Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, FEAST, Ernest Cook Trust Enviroment & Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter and the Elmgrant Trust, and in partnership with Natural England, GES Ltd., The Museum of Cornish Life, Trelowarren Estate, Lizard Outreach Trust and Goonhilly Heritage Society.
GET IN TOUCH:
info@fieldnotes.org.ukThe development of this website was supported by Cultivator Cornwall
