The witch figure is utilised in my creative research as a conceptual inspiration used to explore ideas of feminism, spirituality, and questions of identity. By enacting the figure of the witch, I aim to investigate the characterisation and label of the witch in popular culture and mythology by exploring the patriarchal biases surrounding unruly femininity. In exploring this area the creative work Brew explores the subversive potential of the contemporary witch.

It aims to create a space where the fictitious and mythological attributes of the witch are used positively in a contemporary art setting to emphasise my feminist interpretation of them. In this way Brew attempts to release the witch from mythological representation in order to fragment and examine the positive possibilities of the, fury, superstitions, knowledge, and agency of the witch and how this figure can be used as a metaphor for alterity as well as a symbol of resistance.

Brew (2015) is a sculptural sound work that incorporates sound subtly in its installation. In this work thirteen traffic cones or witches’ hats are hung along the wall of the gallery space. Seven are coated with black glossy paint, while the remaining six are coated in black reflective glitter. A single red light glows over the cones from the ceiling. This light casts shadows over the traffic cones along the back wall of the space, making the glitter reflect and shimmer against the polish of the glossy painted cones. The use of the red light also signifies the loaded meanings associated with the colour from anger, warning, violence and death, to how it is read in the context of the witch figure as signifying fire, heat and witch burnings. Using the colour red in Brew I draw upon these meanings and use it to create a hot, humid, stifling atmosphere, referencing the witch, burnt and rebirthed. In this red environment sound reverberates out of individual cones intermittently at different ends of the wall as a way of creating a spatial element. The natural shape of the traffic cones creates further amplification and distortion of the sounds as they rattle up through the peak of the conduits. I developed the sounds to play with one another, with the aim of creating a symphonic bubbling witches cauldron. Screams, boiling water, and fire crackling echo out of the traffic cones through six portable speakers. The audio was created using my own voice and field recordings to mimic the required sound effects with the help of editing software, mimicking the approach of a foley artist. The process was a vocal approach to creating a witches brew within my own mouth. These methods also reference incarnations, a charm or spell using spoken word, turning the soundscape into a solo acapella version of a boiling cauldron.