I shall be joining The Stone Club in London on the 9th December!
There will be a talk from Right to Roam, films and conversation from Man in the Woods,, a journey across Britain’s ancient sites with Mark S Williamson and his camper van Sven, a talk from me on my Unseen project and Ian Gordon’s film Deathnaid.
I am excited to be part of The Mint House’s Bewitching Pevensey event on the 9th November. I shall be talking about the notorious Clapham Wood, an area of Sussex with a mysterious and murderous past. Clapham Wood is known as the most haunted place in Sussex, a locus for UFO activity, unexplained disappearances and occult ritual. I will be presenting words and images of a hauntological walk from St. Mary the Virgin church through the woods and back again.
I have a couple of talks coming up in Sussex. The first will be at The Lewes Arms for the Lewes Catalyst Club on Wednesday September 11th, 2024.
I will also be presenting at the Shoreham Wordfest on Tuesday October 8th at the Ropetackle Arts Centre. Appearing alongside writer, historian and broadcaster Rebecca Stott and David Bramwell, the host of The Catalyst Club. The Catalyst Club is a French salon style literary and conversational event that’s been going in Brighton for twenty years.
Unseen Press will be joining the creative community in Newhaven at their Books on Tables event on the 24th August, 2024.
Click Link on picture for more information and follow @edgelandmodern on instagram
The Edgeland Modern event is inspired by NYC’s ‘Printed Matter’ and will be celebrating the artist’s books, zines and pamphlets.
I am really proud of The Little Book of Philosophy which is now published in many languages, is available as an audiobook and has been a no. 1 bestseller for several years.
It’s always a pleasure to see reviews from readers:
I have been hesitant to delve into the world of philosophy for a long time due to the broadness of the topic and the intricate historical underpinning. I found this book to be well written and easy to understand for a beginner, it is clear and informative with subtle hints of Poulton's personality coming through along the way. Vidarr
Introduces important philosophers and concepts. Easy to understand and clear timeline! This book was inspiring and a good place to start for deeper investigation which I will definitely be doing now. I loved it! PS (United States)
This is an accessible and inspiring compact guide to philosophy. Rachel Poulton's 191-page 'The Little Book Of Philosophy' is surprisingly comprehensive and a perfect introduction to an often daunting subject which should appeal to the general reader. Jazzrook
I bought this book as I have always had an interest in philosophy but often found texts overwhelming and hard to understand. This little book was brilliant, clear, easy to understand and very interesting. A comprehensive introduction to traditional, modern, eastern and western philosophers and philosophy. I recommend this book!!! Eolhc
Unseen Photography Exhibition -
The Mint House, Pevensey
Unseen will be taking over the ground floor of the historic Mint House in Pevensey, East Sussex from Thursday 25th July - Sunday 28th July.
The Mint House and exhibition is open to the public 11am - 4pm
On Thursday 25th July I will be facilitating a zine making workshop from 1pm - 3.30pm. Book your place here
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Saturday 29th June 2024 - The Mint House "Conjuring Summer" Exhibition
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Squares - a new series of photographic pamphlets
Squares: a series of photographic pamphlets documenting a single psychophotographic walk. This series celebrates the unexpected - images are taken using a 1970 polaroid land camera, the results of which are as unexpected as the walk itself. As I drift, I follow the unforeseen atmospheres, sounds and sights; the thoughts and feelings conjured are examined and expressed.
Printing a Pagan Bohemia
I had a great day at the University of Sussex with Justin Hopper, author of Obsolete Spells - Poems and Prose from Victor Neuberg and The Vine Press. We typeset and printed one of Victor Neuberg’s poems using one of the Vine Press’ original printing blocks that’s not been used since the 1920s. What a joy to have a go at printing with the university’s nineteenth century Albion letterpress too. During the afternoon I was part of a panel of speakers discussing: Victor Neuberg, block printing, the occult in Sussex, modern day indie presses and zine culture. I talked about Unseen Press and the inspirations behind it - walking, 90s skateboarding and music zines, diy aesthetic, psychogeography and the Sussex landscape.
Huge thanks to Justin and Dr. Hope Wolf at the department for the Arts and Humanities for having me along.
Riverrun Catalyst Club Special
I really enjoyed talking about my psychophotographical walk along the Cuckmere River for the Catalyst Club’s Riverrun: A watery themed special on Brighton’s pier. Through a series of photographs and words I took the audience on an atmospheric wander along East Sussex’s Cuckmere River that wends its way from the Weald to the sea, exploring the ghosts and lore that lie en route - from the ancient burial mounds on Windover Hill, guarded by the Wilmington Giant, to the medieval ghost village at Exceat and the World War Two pillboxes mingling with memories of nineteenth century smuggling gangs down at Cuckmere Haven.
To find out more about the very brilliant Catalyst Club’s upcoming events click on the link below.
Unseen Zine making workshop - Brighton Jubilee Library
Unseen Zine Making workshop - Brighton Jubilee Library
Unseen Zine making workshop - Jubilee Library Brighton
Unseen Zine making workshop - Graylingwell Chapel Chichester
Unseen Zine making workshop - Graylingwell Chapel Chichester
Unseen Zine making workshop - Graylingwell Chapel Chichester
Unseen Zine making workshop - Picnic St. Leonards on Sea
Unseen Zine making workshop - Picnic St. Leonards on Sea
Unseen Zine making workshop - Picnic St. Leonards on Sea
Unseen is taking over the quiet area of Graylingwell Chapel with a photography exhibition, Unseen Zines to read and the Unseen Photobook to enjoy. I will be running a zine making workshop for young people in the meeting room to launch the exhibition.
Graylingwell Chapel is a community space run by Chichester Development Trust. It’s a cafe, an events venue, a museum, a gallery, a meeting place and a space to just be. It was the Chapel for the Graylingwell Psychiatric Hospital, a Victorian asylum that included many therapeutic treatments for patients, including a working farm. It is now a residential development with a growing community.
Unseen: in search of the sublime and spirit of place
Unseen Photography Exhibition
I have a public exhibition coming up in the Foyer Gallery at The Jubilee Library Brighton from 14th - 28th April, 2024
Come along to the private view, it’s free but numbers are limited so booking is essential.
Unseen 6 Cissbury Ring
Unseen 6 is out now! All about a Samhain wander up on Cissbury Hill and a highlight of Sussex’s ‘Legend Landscape’ - Cissbury Ring. A relic of our ancient past, Cissbury Ring has been in use for over five thousand years. Find out more in the latest chapter of Unseen Zine - a periodically produced photo zine about walking, atmosphere and a search for the sublime and spirit of place.
Photography exhibition - The Mint House, Pevensey
Saturday October 7th, I am showing some prints from my Unseen project as part of the Mint House New Heritage Takeover. Based in the gorgeously crumbly back room/conservatory/orangery of this centuries old inn, I am exhibiting photographs from some of my wanderings around ancient sites in Sussex and copies of my zines available to buy. There will also be: flash tattooing, makers market and an evening event including conversation, films and music hosted by The Stone Club founders, Lally Macbeth and Matthew Shaw. I will be there during the day the evening to chat about my work and the beautiful Sussex landscape in general.
Unseen is about connecting with the natural and emotional landscape through the past, and exploring the spiritual, archaeological and topographical significance of specific ancient sites in Sussex. Through a series of intuitive walks on the key celebratory dates of nature’s calendar, I am spending the year unearthing the hidden mysteries of the land and searching for the sublime, spirit of each place and ultimately, home.
Unseen 5 - Clapham Wood
Unseen 5 is out now! The latest edition of Unseen Zine takes you on a wander through the notorious Clapham Wood. Rumoured to be the most haunted woodland in Sussex and a locus for UFO sightings, occult activity, paranormal happenings and unexplained disappearances. It’s been a place of weird goings on since the 1960s. Unseen 5 isn’t just a wander through this eerie wood, but a wander through my thoughts, memories and some historical markers, as I retrace my steps from the medieval St. Mary the Virgin Church, through Clapham Wood to the clearing and back again.
I have written a philosophy book for children with Dorling Kindersley. Publishing date - 5th October 2023
About Get To Know: Philosophy
A fun, visual guide for kids about the tricky topic of philosophy: what it covers, why it's important, and who the big philosophers are!
The instinct to question is shared by both children and philosophers, and kids start to question the world around them at an early age. Children aged 7+ can begin to understand how critical thinking works, from the smallest details to the largest concepts, both children and philosophers approach the world with an enquiring mind, and accept little at face value.
Get to know: Philosophy will encourage and magnify children's inquisitive side, using engaging thought experiments, real-world examples and allegories. Learning about philosophy doesn't have to be tricky either - this guide features fun activities and quizzes, bright pages and breaks the information into bite-size chunks so that it's easy to digest.
Workshop with Rachel Poulton
Friday 4th August
11:35 - 14:30 - Hastings & St. Leonards Sailing Club, Marina, St-Leonards-On-sea Tn38 0BU
I will be facilitating a workshop exploring spirit of place, eternal landscapes, intuitive walking and how they can influence photographic practice. I will introduce the concept of psychogeography and briefly explain how the idea inspires my work before setting off on a psychogeographical wander ourselves. I will lead the group on an intuitive walk from the Hastings and St. Leonards Sailing Club to Bulverhythe Cliffs, recording the experience as we go. Images created will reflect the mood, ambience and relationship between the photographer and the environment. Participants will choose a sequence of images that represent their observations, these photographs will be part of a seafront exhibition later in the year.
As you walk, “be alert to the happenstance of metaphors, watch for visual rhymes, coincidences, analogies, family resemblances, the changing moods … Walking makes for content; footage for footage” (Robert Macfarlane)
Saturday 5th August
17:30 - Hastings & St. Leonards Sailing Club, Marina, St-Leonards-On-sea Tn38 0BU
Talk about Unseen - Exploring the Hidden Landscape
Brighton Photography Club
Throughout June and July I worked with a brilliant group of young people investigating ‘spirit of place’ and photographing what Brighton means to them.
After school, and the odd Saturday, workshops consisted of teaching photography skills, searching through the Museum’s archives, documenting walks down on Brighton Seafront and creating work and words for each participants’ Bronze Arts Award.
An exhibition of their work is on show in the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery throughout August and September.
Birdwatching Workshops with artist Daniel and Clara
I ran two Birdwatching workshops in Mersea, Essex to support artists Daniel and Clara’s Birding project, a visual arts based project centred around birds and birdwatching. The workshops took place at the Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve, and Cudmore Grove on Mersea Island.
The symbolism, mythology and folklore of birds
Birds have fascinated humans in diverse cultures throughout the world for thousands of years. Our workshop will be an introduction to the symbolism and folklore attached to common birds found in the UK and around the world. Rachel will tell the children tales told throughout history about sparrows, herons, nightingales and woodpeckers. We will then go bird watching and make a record of the birds we see, taking note of the plumage, size, call/song and behaviour of each bird. Bird books will be available to deduce bird species and names. The children will then have a chance to choose one of the birds they observe, create their own poster with artwork and details of their own imagined mythology attached to their bird. By the end of the session we will have our own guide to the folklore of Essex birds.
Unseen
I am really excited to announce that I have been awarded an Arts Council England Project grant to develop my Unseen project. With the help of funding from the arts I am planning lots of new work, exhibitions, workshops, walks and talks over the coming year. This is a great opportunity and I’m incredibly grateful to ACE for supporting this project.
Photography Club with Photoworks
I will be working with Photoworks throughout June and July facilitating a Photography Club in partnership with Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. The club will investigate ‘spirit of place’ and feature themes of landscape, place and time. We will be delving into the museum’s vast photography archive and exploring the topography of Brighton & Hove past and present.
Workshops will feature practical activities and collaborative exercises and are designed to be playful and fun, with a focus on creativity and skills development.
There will be a showcase of participants’ photographs in the Museum throughout August and a private view in September.
Memento Mori - Exhibition at Jubilee Library, Brighton
7th - 14th May 2023
Presentation in the Community Area at 12pm, Sunday 14th May
As part of the Dying Matters Awareness Week programme at Jubilee Library in Brighton, I will be exhibiting some prints from my series Memento Mori and delivering a talk about the art form of Memento Mori. I’ll present a brief introduction, explore the origins of the Latin phrase, its meaning and take a deepish dive into a few of the famous renaissance paintings that can be viewed at The National Gallery in London.
Memento Mori is a series of black and white photographs taken during the lockdown of 2020 in the overgrown graveyards of medieval churches in Sussex. The work was printed and bound in a limited edition A5 zine. Rather than a morbid meditation on death Memento Mori is about cherishing life; it urges us to live courageously, passionately and with purpose - whatever that means for you. In the words of Seneca, the Stoic philosopher;
“ … we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it. Life is long if you know how to use it.”
Seneca - On the Shortness of Life
