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Offa's Dyke Cyanotypes and Paintings

In July 2021 I was part of a relay team that ran the length of Offa's Dyke Route, a huge linear earthwork structure started in 785 which runs 182 miles along the current border between England and Wales. I collected pebbles on route to document the landscape I ran through. The resulting work is an exploration of  map lines, pebbles, memories they hold  and the void left when removed from the landscape.  

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Acrylic and Ink Pebbles

 I painted each pebble I collected linking the  map lines I followed on route. 

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Making Cyanotypes

I used the preternatural qualities of the Cyanotype process to explore the ethereal qualities of the pebbles. Casting shadows to tell their hidden secrets.

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Offa's Dyke Cyanotypes

The resulting Cyanotypes link together the route and the pebbles. White shapes the embodiment of spaces left in  landscapes they once inhabited.

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Single Pebbles

Each pebble became familiar. Single cyanotypes offered an opportunity for them to tell their story, secrets seeping out from the ghostly outlines. 

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Tablecloths

The importance of socialising  at the end of each day of running is represented by the use of a tablecloth. Each cloth embedded with the cyanotype image of the pebbles.

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Postcards

Giving is beneficial to wellbeing,  12 cyanotype postcards were left on the Offa's Dyke Path to keep or pass on. Pebbles entrusting their stories to others.

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​​Sian Burns 

Family Celebrant 

Monmouthshire & Surrounding areas.

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