The Immaculate Sisters (artist duo Deb Rogers and Sam Mace) worked with Urban Wilderness during autumn 2020 to explore the power of ritual as a tool to process difficult emotions and support health and wellbeing during the pandemic. A limited edition booklet of personal rituals recommended for wellbeing, improved mental health and nature connection was produced by Urban Wilderness as part of the Winter Wastelands project in 2020.

One year on, during the week of the summer solstice, the Immaculate Sisters are visiting the wild women of Urban Wilderness to discover the hidden rituals that support their work and creative practices.

in the shadows

So, Tuesday 22nd June started with me exploring how to look like I was in the shadows, and what does that really mean? I wasn’t sure but I rather liked it. I knew I could dress in black, as I often do, and play at being invisible whilst watching and listening, clocking and noting. What an unusual and challenging experience for me to plan, I needed to be silent and still.

I really had no idea what I was going to do or where I was going to be, just somewhere in Longton Exchange. I knew I wanted to respond to the day creatively, make something based on my observations. I could feel a little fear rising, I find it hard not knowing what I am going to do, not to have a plan. What if I fail? What is failing here? What is expected of me? I pushed myself to stay as open about it as I could. I had to trust myself.

kit bag

A spotting scope, (20-60 x 60 zoom, 29m/1000m(bei/at 20x)).
An orbit telescope 30x30mm.
Small octopus tripod and of course my trusty phone.

Capturing movement

I knew the wild women of Urban Wilderness were going to be meeting some artists in Longton Exchange, but I had imagined myself indoors spying on them in a visibly invisible manner. But they were outside. I had to rethink, start from scratch and just go with it.

yeah i’ll turn them all into pigeons or gulls

There was so much laughter from the group. Herring gulls were calling at each other throughout the meeting and many pigeons were hanging about, hopeful for dropped pastry crumbs. I began to hear a parallel between laughter and the gull’s sound and I began to see a link between the pigeon’s movement and the groups movement.

Then I found myself watching their feet. Watching the feet and listening to the sounds. What I saw and the soundtrack I heard started to merge, laughter from pigeons, herring gull screeches from the humans and some beautiful almost dancelike footwork. All through the eye of a spotting scope.

The power of three

Later in the day I met Sister Sam in a car park in Hanley and proceeded to disguise her brightly coloured self in a silver sheet. She rustled and reflected her way to the headquarters of Urban Wilderness.

We attempted to be as inconspicuous as possible whilst the three wild women, Laurel, Jenny and Isla planned big things in a triangulated fashion around the table.