Ecstatic Rituals
Through a series of sculpture, performance and installation Ecstatic Rituals explored the tradition of Hull Fair. Reflecting on urban folklore as well as past and present notions of mass festivity, this exhibition considered the city’s medieval era when the fair was started and when the city of Hull was one of the main sites for international imports to the UK.
Contributing artists: Faye Spencer, Anna FC Smith, Mike S Redmond and Faye Coral Johnson, Tom Ireland, Medieval Helpdesk.
Artist Bios
Tom Ireland is an artist and curator living and working in Blackpool, UK. Spanning a variety of media, Ireland’s practice is centred around broad notions of space, distance and the things which fill it; he is interested in what these things are, both physically and ideologically, their interaction with one another and how they operate within the world to shape our individual and collective understanding.
Faye Spencer’s hand – made mediator figures in traditional morris dancing attire provide a contemporary take on the ‘Fool’ and the ‘Beast’. Spencer says “I would like to make space for the less genteel aspects of British folklore and celebrate the ugliness and camaraderie of urban folk tradition, as well as question the extent to which we can revive a tradition without commodifying it.”
Anna FC Smith is a Wigan (UK) based multimedia artist. She studied Critical Fine Art Practice at the University of Brighton, graduating in 2007 and has exhibited internationally. Smith has a longstanding obsession with the overlooked in history, folk culture, and communal traditions. As a practitioner she locates herself between artist, historian and anthropologist, with historical and anthropological research forming the basis of much of her work. Through her practice Smith celebrates ‘low culture’ relating with concepts of the carnivalesque, bawdiness, irreverence and ambivalence. She explores the role of history and the archive and the links contemporary society has with its predecessors.
Collaborative artists Mike S Redmond and Faye Coral Johnson (MSR FCJ) are the duo behind collections that dare to explore all manner of odd but enchanting circumstances. Themes of unbridled romance, mild horror, biting humour and plain weird fantasy unfold. Two brains and two hands work as one, a process that loosens any pre-visions, leading down a path to the unknown, in a direction they could never foresee. Through an experimental exchange, somewhere between the chaos and harmony of melding visual ideas, MSR FCJ consciously push traditional concepts of craftsmanship in favour of personal styles of figuration. They challenge these classical methods in order to present an intensely personal view of the world around them.
Medieval helpdesk is an anachronistic curatorial project that reactivates perceptions, objects and rituals associated with the ‘Dark Ages’ within contemporary contexts. It comprises writer/editor Lara Eggleton, and artist David Steans, both based in Leeds.
Past events
Though The Leaves Are Many... : INTER_CHANGE exhibition
Byland's Super Saga, 2024. Jack Pell © Jules Lister
Byland's Super Saga, Jack Pell
Diasporas Now UK Tour at Humber Street Gallery, 2024 © Abbie Jennings
Diasporas Now UK Tour
Pearson Primary Portraits, 2023 © Jules Lister
Pearson Primary Portraits, Class 5
Installation view. Bloomberg New Contemporaries. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2022 © Jules Lister
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2022
Kristin McGuire © Studio McGuire / Nikki Rummer © Camilla Greenwell
An evening of physical performance with Kristin McGuire and Nikki Rummer
© Middle Child
Out Loud Scratch Night with Middle Child and Silent Uproar
© Pheobe riley Law
High Street Soundwalk Artist Talk: Jez riley French
Installation view. In My Room, Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings. Courtesy of Focal Point Gallery and the artists, 2020 © Anna Lukala
In My Room, Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings
Installation View, 2021. Leo Fitzmaurice, Autosuggestions. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
Autosuggestions, Leo Fitzmaurice
Gipsyville Christmas Tree, 2020 © Absolutely Cultured
Christmas Activities 2020
HIPI Hang Out Forum, Absolutely Cultured © Absolutely Cultured
1:1 Advice Surgeries with Arts Council England
50 Queers for 50 Years Workshop © Chris Pepper
Creative Micro-Commission Programme
Nnena Kalu, Wrapping. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Wrapping, Nnena Kalu
Frances Disley, The Cucumber Fell in the Sand. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
The Cucumber Fell In The Sand, Frances Disley
Installation View. Jade Montserrat, Instituting Care. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Jade Montserrat: Instituting Care
Ella Dorton, Journey to the Centre of the Couch (Couches & Other Good Ideas). Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Journey To The Centre Of The Couch (Couches & Other Good Ideas), Ella Dorton
Man On The Moon Keisha Thompson. IETM Hull 2019 © Keisha Thompson
IETM Hull 2019 Artistic Programme
Installation view. Measures of Life, The Lumen Prize for Digital Art. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2018. © Tom Arran
Measures of Life by The Lumen Prize for Digital Art
Perches and Flyways, 2023. Creative Connections Artists, Juneau Projects and Jennifer Holtridge © Jules Lister
Perches and Flyways, Creative Connections Artists with Jennifer Holtridge and Juneau Projects
Our Strength is in Our Connection, Miranda Van Rossum and Hanna Lutkin
Winner Breaks First, Luke Beech. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery © Jules Lister
Winner Breaks First, Luke Beech
Installation view. Oliver Ressler, Climate Feedback Loops. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
Climate Feedback Loops, Oliver Ressler
© Floral & Lace
Luxury Christmas Wreath Making With Floral & Lace @ Humber Street Gallery
Installation view. Various Artists, HSG Open Call Q1 2021. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2021. © Jules Lister
HSG Open Call
Installation view, 2022. Harminder Judge, Ankles Absorbing Ash. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
Ankles Absorbing Ash, Harminder Judge
Installation view. Kara Chin, Show Real. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
Show Real, Kara Chin
Installation View, 2021. Jasleen Kaur, Flesh 'n' Blood. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
Flesh ‘n’ Blood, Jasleen Kaur
Installation view. HSG Open Call - Season Two. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2021. © Jules Lister
HSG Open Call - Season Two
Installation View, 2021. Leo Fitzmaurice, Enjoy Civic Life. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
Enjoy Civic Life, Leo Fitzmaurice
Fruit Factory Network site visit to Bloc Projects, Sheffield © Absolutely Cultured
Life as a Creative
Installation View. Practice in Place. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2020. © Jules Lister
Practice In Place
HIPI Hang Out Forum, Absolutely Cultured © Absolutely Cultured
Arts Council England under £15k Applications: Top Tips with Deb Ashby
Installation view, 2019. Ollie Dook, Proboscidea Rappings. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Proboscidea Rappings, Ollie Dook
Dance Exchange Programme, Absolutely Cultured © Absolutely Cultured
Dance Exchange Hull
Hull Takeover: Previews © The Herd/The Roaring Girls/Just Club
Hull Takeover: Previews
Athena Papadopoulos, A Tittle-Tattle Tell-a-Tale-Heart, courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist 2019. © James Mulkeen
A Tittle-Tattle Tell-a-Tale Heart, Athena Papadopoulos
Installation view. Place To Place: Liverpool Biennial Touring Programme. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2019. © Rob Battersby
Place To Place: Liverpool Biennial Touring Programme
Jamie Reid XXXXX: Fifty Years of Subversion and The Spirit © James Mulkeen
Jamie Reid XXXXX: Fifty Years of Subversion and The Spirit
You and Me in HU3, Russell Boyce and George Norris. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery, 2024 © Jules Lister
You and Me in HU3, Russell Boyce and George Norris
BOOTLEG SHREG & FRIENDS, 2023. Bruce Asbestos © Jules Lister
BOOTLEG SHREG & FRIENDS, Bruce Asbestos
Baa's House, Hetain Patel. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery, 2023 © Jules Lister
Baa's House, Hetain Patel
Installation view. Lou Lou Sainsbury, Earth is a Deadname, 2022. Commissioned and produced by Gasworks. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. Photo: Jules Lister
Earth is a Deadname, Lou Lou Sainsbury
Nobody by Motionhouse. Image © Dan Tucker
Nobody: A Dance-Circus Adventure
Installation view, 2022. INTER_CHANGE Showcase. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
INTER_CHANGE Showcase
Installation view. Ashley Holmes, Trust Melody. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
Trust Melody, Ashley Holmes
Installation view, 2021. In Conversation as Collective Strategy. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
In Conversation as Collective Strategy
50 Queers for 50 Years Workshop © Chris Pepper
Creative Case for Diversity: An Introduction
Fruit Factory Network site visit to Bloc Projects, Sheffield © Absolutely Cultured
Introduction to Fundraising in the Arts
Installation View. HSG Open Call - Season One. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2021. © Jules Lister
HSG Open Call - Season One (2021)
Chatty Hull, 2019 © Absolutely Cultured
Making work with and for communities
Installation view, 2020. Jamie Crewe, Solidarity & Love. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister.
Jamie Crewe, Solidarity & Love
Model City, Absolutely Cultured © Tom Arran
Volunteer Community Support and Crisis Response
Installation view, 2020. Lucy Clout, ZZZ. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2020. © Jules Lister
Lucy Clout, ZZZ
Installation View, 2019. Aniara Omann, Equanipolis. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Equanipolis, Aniara Omann
Installation View. Mike S Redmond and Faye Coral Jones (MSR FCJ), Ecstatic Rituals.Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Ecstatic Rituals
IETM Hull © Tom Arran
Emerging Cultural Leaders Mobility Bursary 2019 - Information Event
PRS Foundation's New Music Biennial 2019, Absolutely Cultured © Tom Arran
PRS Foundation New Music Biennial 2019
Cut, Humber Street Gallery 2019. © James Mulkeen
Cut, Richard Houguez & Graham Jones
Candoco Dance Company © Hugo Glendinning
IETM Hull 2019 Plenary Meeting
Oh The Night! - imitating the dog. Urban Legends: Northern Lights, Absolutely Cultured © Tom Arran
Urban Legends: Northern Lights
Installation view. It Takes A Village. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2019. © James Mulkeen