Tracey Warr's Blog, page 20
January 1, 2019
Frontiers in Retreat
[image error]For the last five years I have been a participant in the art and ecology research project, Frontiers in Retreat. The project engaged with a range of sites across Europe and involved 25 artists and 8 curatorial organisations. Research in the project took me to the Catalan Pyrenees (with CAN), to Finnish islands (with HIAP) and to Lithuania, Iceland and Cambridge, US (with Jutempus).
My own research outcomes included:
A series of three books called The Water Age (published by Meanda Books), which are collections of short future fictions and workshop exercises for adults and children;
The Midden (published by Garret), which I co-edited. The Midden includes essays by me, Jenni Nurmenniemi, Antti Salminen, Taru Elfving, Jussi Parikka and short texts by future fiction writer, Emma Itaranta;
Participation in the Edge Effects exhibition with CAN
The Zooetics project in collaboration with Jutempus, which included lectures by Keller Easterling, Matthew Fuller, Caleb Harper, Natalie Jeremijenko, Jae Rhim Lee, Timothy Morton, Dimitris Papadopoulos, Christian Schwagerl, Territorial Agency, and Skylar Tibbits; projects on mycelium, algae, and bacteria; and culminated in a symposium at MIT.
The Frontiers in Retreat booklet is available to download. And more on the project here.
September 17, 2018
Publication Day! The Water Age
My new books The Water Age 1, 2, 3 are published today by Meanda Books. The Water Age & Other Fictions is a collection of short future fictions. ‘Meanda’ takes place on an ocean exoplanet. ‘Asbrú’ tangles in the fronds of Icelandic algae. Other stories explore slime technologies. These fictions are spawned by aquatic flora and fauna, such as spitting fish, inking squids and singing whales, and above all, they are inspired by water itself. Available as paperbacks and ebooks on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble Nook and iBooks.
The second book, The Water Age Art & Writing Workshops, is a workbook for creative and playful engagements with the possibility that we may be living with more water in the future. The topic of water is explored through writing and art exercises that include aquatic biomimicry inventions, writing with maps, drawing inspirations from Vikings and taking watery words on adventures. Available as paperbacks and ebooks on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble Nook and iBooks.
The third book, The Water Age Children’s Art & Writing Workshops, was initially inspired by a workshop I ran at Modern Art Oxford with my sister. I built on the first workshop with a children’s art workshop in Helsinki and, then, with a writing workshop in a primary school in Haydon Bridge. With the participants I explored facts about the behaviour of water and about aquatic flora and fauna. For example: the water you drink has been through the bladder of a Tyrannosaurus rex and many other places; the water on Earth is 4.4 billion years old and came here from outer space; the octopus has three hearts and its eyes can look in two separate directions.
The Water Age Children’s Art & Writing Workshops is a book for teachers, artists and writers who are working with children aged 8–11. Workshop activities include drawing and painting waterscapes, building waterscapes in the classroom or playground, designing and making models for water living, creating simple films about water living and writing a story about a future watery world. Available as paperbacks and ebooks on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble Nook and iBooks.
Thanks to James A. Hudson for the lovely covers and thanks to HIAP and Frontiers in Retreat for supporting the publication of the books.
More information at Meanda Books.
My latest newsletter with updates on all my writing including historical fiction, future fiction and art writing has just been published. If you don’t already subscribe you can sign up here.
September 15, 2018
Spies and intrigues in the 12th century
I am currently hard at work on the final book in my Conquest series about the Welsh and the Normans in the 12th century. The trilogy is centred on the life of Nest ferch Rhys, the daughter of the last Welsh king of the south-west kingdom of Deheubarth. The final book is called The Anarchy and will be published by Impress Books in 2019. I’ve been rereading the first two books to get thoroughly immersed again in the characters’ lives. The advantage of writing the final book in a trilogy is that your characters’ backstories already exist in your own previous novels. In the new book, I’m enjoying developing the role of Breri, a travelling Welsh bard and a spy, and I am writing in an intrigue involving the Vatican and the Bishop of Winchester.
My latest newsletter with updates on all my writing including historical fiction, future fiction and art writing has just been published. If you don’t already subscribe you can sign up here.
August 24, 2018
Welsh goldmine
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Researching royal bastards, medieval Welsh noblewomen and Welsh gold at the British Library this week for the final book in my Welsh Conquest trilogy. The Anarchy – coming soon. See Impress Books.
The jewellery above are from a Roman hoard found near the Dolaucothi goldmine in south Wales. (Now in the British Museum.)
August 5, 2018
The Midden – new art and ecology book
The Midden is just published by Garret Publications, edited by me and Jenni Nurmenniemi. It builds on the Frontiers in Retreat art and ecology project. It includes essays by Antti Salminen, Taru Elfving, Jussi Parikka, Jenni, and myself, and two short texts by future fiction writer, Emmi Itaranta. The design is by Serge Rompza at NODE Berlin Oslo.
Click to view slideshow.
June 27, 2018
The Water Age – 3 new books
Coming soon:
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Octavio Paz meets J.G. Ballard meets David Attenborough in these suspenseful, lyrical tales of hybrid species and aqua technologies. ‘Meanda’ takes place on an ocean exoplanet. ‘Asbrú’ tangles in the fronds of Icelandic algae. Other stories explore slime technologies. These fictions are spawned by aquatic flora and fauna, such as spitting fish, inking squids and singing whales, and above all, they are inspired by water itself.
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The art and writing workshops in this book engage creatively and playfully with the possibility that we may be living with more water in the future. The topic of water is explored through writing and art exercises that include aquatic biomimicry inventions, writing with maps, drawing inspirations from Vikings and taking watery words on adventures.
[image error]The water you drink has been through the bladder of a Tyrannosaurus rex and many other places. The water on Earth is 4.4 billion years old and came here from outer space. The octopus has three hearts and its eyes can look in two separate directions. What other facts can we find out about the behaviour of water? What can we learn about aquatic flora and fauna? What imaginative ideas can we have about living with more water?
The Water Age Children’s Art and Writing Workshops is a book for teachers, artists and writers who are working with children aged 8–11. The workshops focus on water and contemplate a possible future when we may be living with more water. The art workshop suggests drawing and painting waterscapes, building waterscapes in the classroom or playground, designing and making models for water living, creating simple films about water living. The writing workshop helps to develop a story about a future watery world, and suggests performing and recording a story, creating an exhibition or broadcast, or turning a story into a book.
Books are available for preorder from mid-August. Further information and expression of interest form here.
June 20, 2018
The Midden – new book
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Hot off the press, The Midden, edited by me and Jenni Nurmenniemi, designed by NODE Berlin Oslo, published by Garret Publications, with essays touching on art and ecologies, energy and post fossil futures, Mary Douglas and more, by Emmi Itäranta, Jussi Parikka, Antti Salminen, Taru Elfving, Jenni and me.
June 19, 2018
Beautiful books
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Reading W.G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn and The Mabinogion. Writing about the Norman White Ship disaster and the struggles of the Welsh princes to oust the Norman invaders in my novel in progress, The Anarchy.
June 5, 2018
The Midden
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A new book, The Midden, edited by me and Jenni Nurmenniemi – in printing process now in Berlin.
Drawing on the Frontiers in Retreat 5 year art and ecologies research project. Essays by Emma Itaranta, Jussi Parikka, Antti Salminen, Taru Elfving, Jenni Nurmenniemi and me. Fabulous design by Serge Rompza and NODE. Published by Garret Publications.
May 24, 2018
to Observatory from Beyond
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I am starting a new future fiction today in 60 days of daily tweets. You may be interested to follow @Meanda55555
