Image: River That Never Rests performance. Photograph courtesy of Ashanti Hare.
River That Never Rests Iteration II is a ritual performance that explores the concept of the river Exe becoming sentient and revealing its story as ‘the observer of the land and guardian of passing over.’ The process of creating the ceremonial costume is an integral part of the work, encompassing the magick and meditation of ritual.
Hare developed this commission in part during a residency at Southcombe Barn in 2023. Observing the surrounding wildlife was integral to exploring the idea of the river Exe ‘as the watcher who connects the physical with documented histories of Exeter and the wider South West; other worlds; the many oral histories of Gobal Majority people and wildlife that travel through it.’
The performance is part of Invasion Ecology, a season of contemporary land art presented by Radical Ecology and Southcombe Barn coming to Dartmoor from 1 May - 10 August 2024 that questions what we mean by ‘native’ and what it means to belong, reimagining more empathic connections between humans, plants, animals and landscapes.
Ashanti Hare is a Devon-based multidisciplinary artist and spiritual practitioner who explores their spiritual being through performance and traditional craft practices like textiles, ceramics, and wood carving. Their practice is informed by British and Global Majority folklore, occult practices, and history. Hare’s research into both the African origins of Vodou and Vodon practices and water gods in a range of African and Norse mythologies reveal water as a bridge between worlds. In these narratives, water represents the cyclical nature of grief; death and rebirth; joy and celebration. For Hare, water also becomes a ‘symbol for the transatlantic slave trade’.
River That Never Rests was commissioned by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter.