Swansula Sail, 2023

150 x 160 cm
Wool, Iron, reed, buddleia, driftwood, found rope,
found plastic, flint

Materials from Swanscombe Peninsula in North West Kent.



A sail map of Swansula for sailing the subconscious, out the Estuary to the North Seas.

The image on the sail is a map of Swanscombe Peninsula with the River Thames drawn in iron. The top of the sail points west towards the setting sun and the bottom points east to the rising sun.

The peninsula now takes the form of mother nature's breast. The fantasy land of Swansula exists on the landscape but in the future and on an altered plane of existence. The map of Swansula is a way of rooting the fantasy vessel to home during voyages in otherworlds and during lucid dreams.

Swansula Sail weaves in the local area's Viking history. Connecting to a time where longships and Viking settlements lined the Thames Estuary. The emblem for Greenhithe and Swanscombe town council is a Viking dragonship, illustrating how much this past established the sea faring identity of the area.

Swansula Sail is made of wool, a common sail material choice for the Vikings, dyed with two of the landscape's most abundant materials, reeds and buddleia collected from the marshes. The sail is infused with their virtues. Reeds are symbolic of a human soul, the power of the wind, protection, love and family. Buddleia represents resilience, rebirth and resurrection.



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

Reed Spirit
60 x 30 cm
Found plastic, iron, reed