Muggins, 2023

180 x 200 cm
Wool, Mugwort

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) from Swanscombe Peninsula in North West Kent.



Swansula in a state of dreaming.

The edges of Swanscombe Marshes are prolific with Mugwort. Protecting its nature and holding the site in a space of dreaming.

In Swansula fiction Mugwort is harvested at the beginning of Autumn and is formed into a figure, a Muggins.

A Muggins made over the Autumn Equinox is burnt during the Spring Equinox to release prophecies and knowledge gained over a deep winter's sleep as new fertile energy.

The Muggins is visited over winter by the community who gather round for collective dreaming, clipping pieces of Mugwort to infuse, smoke or digest.

A woolen blanket is infused with the virtues of Mugwort to hold the Muggins in dream space. Dyed with the herb's leaves, steam and flower heads.

The Swansula Muggins dream of a common future for the land that best benefits local people and wildlife. Repelling negative influences such as profit driven developments and any private land ownership that threatens its nature.






Both Swansula Sail and Muggins were made over seven days of the Autumn Equinox.