Somewhat of lust
2026. Digital video, 1000s of photographs. Hand lettering, gold leaf
In late 2025 I was awarded a bursary from the University of Cambridge Medieval Ideas Creative Lab to develop new work based on investigations into the medieval manuscript collections of the University.
I decided to look for a text in English (though medieval English is still foreign enough to me), rather than Latin or another European language, and one that was secular rather than religious. I came across John Gower and his Confessio Amantis. I then discovered that the University held multiple copies of the text, and so my quest began…
I set myself the challenge of visiting and photographing every copy, extract and fragment held in Cambridge, to see what might emerge. I did this over 3 days in March and I was hopeful that something interesting might arise from the variety. I wasn’t disappointed.
Rather than treating the manuscripts simply as carriers of a medieval text, the resulting film responds to their individual material qualities — their surfaces, details, marks, variations and traces of use. Macro photography offers a way of looking intensely, while my process allows fragments of text and image to be layered, juxtaposed and reimagined, creating unexpected connections between the medieval and the contemporary.
The project is nearing completion (September 2026) and will comprise a 15-minute film and 10 prints, hand-lettered and gilded with 24ct gold leaf.
In late 2025 I was awarded a bursary from the University of Cambridge Medieval Ideas Creative Lab to develop new work based on investigations into the medieval manuscript collections of the University.
I decided to look for a text in English (though medieval English is still foreign enough to me), rather than Latin or another European language, and one that was secular rather than religious. I came across John Gower and his Confessio Amantis. I then discovered that the University held multiple copies of the text, and so my quest began…
I set myself the challenge of visiting and photographing every copy, extract and fragment held in Cambridge, to see what might emerge. I did this over 3 days in March and I was hopeful that something interesting might arise from the variety. I wasn’t disappointed.
Rather than treating the manuscripts simply as carriers of a medieval text, the resulting film responds to their individual material qualities — their surfaces, details, marks, variations and traces of use. Macro photography offers a way of looking intensely, while my process allows fragments of text and image to be layered, juxtaposed and reimagined, creating unexpected connections between the medieval and the contemporary.
The project is nearing completion (September 2026) and will comprise a 15-minute film and 10 prints, hand-lettered and gilded with 24ct gold leaf.
