WYRD THEN : WEIRD NOW
THE KOPPEL PROJECT
MARYLEBONE LONDON UK 2016
“Today, the term ‘weird’ means something strange, bizarre, or supernatural. But in its archaic and original sense, it meant that aspect of life which was so deep, so all-pervasive, and so central to our understanding of ourselves and our world, that it was inexpressible.” Brian Bates author of Way Of Wyrd.
For exhibition ‘Wyrd Then : Weird Now’
artist Sol Bailey Barker used the ancient ritual axe as a starting point to explore notions of sacred objects and rituals of the Neolithic landscapes of Europe. Through an investigation of the evolution of sacred forms and materials, and in reviving shamanic characters to perform ancient object-based rituals, he reflects on the relationship between societies and their enduring power symbols.
Starting with the Neolithic axe head and its complex layers of symbolism Sol Bailey Barker studied the evolution of power symbols, mapping their history in order to understand how a material aura once perceived as magic or wyrd is still retained in contemporary objects and machines. From the Neolithic era the axe head was used as both a tool and a sacred object, coveted and imbued with the powers and attributes of ancient gods. Across Europe axe heads too large for practical use have been discovered buried in waterlogged land, frequently left on the boundaries between ancient territories within short walking distance of burial mounds and chambers, agricultural land and settlements.
The axe was surrounded by sacred ritual. Whilst being transported across the land, axes were wrapped and bound to protect the uninitiated from their powers, whilst also
protecting the object from outside contamination. The wrapping and unwrapping of the axe within different materials presented the metaphor of secrecy, the notion of the insider and outsider. Axes past down as heirlooms through families carried the narrative of ancestry channelling power through the generations. Often the axe was considered
to be sentient and those who possessed the wisdom to make axes were tribal leaders; perceived to hold cosmological, transformation powers.