Folklore Rising: An Artist's Journey through the British Ritual Year

by Ben Edge

Overview

Ben Edge is a rising star of both the art world and the current folk renaissance. This first trade book of Edge's art, featuring over 200 artworks, is a unique insight into his creative process as well as the first mainstream book to explore the amazing and wildly popular folk customs of the British ritual year.

'In his deeply squirrelly, edgy, almost mystic paintings, Ben Edge tries to ask where we all come from and why we tell ourselves the stories we tell ourselves.' – Jerry Saltz

'It's time to rediscover the real and this book tells you where to find it. Indispensable.' – Jarvis Cocker

Ben Edge has travelled the length and breadth of Britain recording the weird and wonderful folk customs alive in communities all over the country. In this book, the first trade edition of his art, he shares over 200 paintings and photographs, along with real-life stories, anecdotes and legends. He talks about how connecting with our incredible living folklore helped him recover from depression, and also introduces his idea of folklore activism, suggesting that the current massive resurgence of interest in contemporary folk culture represents ordinary people’s desire to find new ways of envisioning community and caring for and connecting to nature. Readers will be enchanted and inspired by the images and description of:

• Mass events that are attended by thousands such as the solstices at Stonehenge, the Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss parade, the Burry Man’s Day and the Straw Bear of Whittlesea.
• Practices to celebrate the turning wheel of the year, from wassailing to May Day fertility rites to fire festivals to Mumming Plays.
• The progressive all-female Morris dancing side Boss Morris.
• The Green Man – how this has become an icon of modern spirituality and eco-consciousness and a personal symbol of mental health recovery to Ben.
• Standing stones and the mythology surrounding them.

Overall the book explores the psyche of British folklore, showing how this has fed into his art and what this means in the context of contemporary life. It's a book about reconnection with nature, each other and the past through art and folklore.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786789129
Publisher:	Watkins Media
Publication date:	10/08/2024
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	300

About the Author

Ben Edge is an artist, songwriter, film-maker, author and folklorist, whose work depicts the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Ever since serendipitously stumbling on a Druid ceremony on Tower Hill, London, Edge has been obsessively documenting the seasonal customs of Britain and beyond, establishing himself as a rising star in both the art world and as a leading voice in the current folk renaissance. In 2021, Edge's Ritual Britain Exhibition attracted over 10,000 thousand visitors with extensive media coverage and viral exposure across social media. Find out more at benedge.co.uk and on Instagram @ben_edge_art

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In his deeply squirrely, edgy, almost mystic paintings, Ben Edge tries to ask where we all come from and why we tell ourselves the stories we tell ourselves."
– Jerry Saltz, Senior Art Critic for New York Magazine, 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, Author NYT Bestseller How To Be An Artist

"A vibrant celebration of all that the establishment do not control or understand."
– John Higgs, novelist, cultural historian and author of books including William Blake vs the World and Watling Street

"A fascinating and engaging first-hand account of our ancient customs by the grandmaster of folk art."
– Charlotte Mullins, art critic, broadcaster and author of books including A Little Book of Art and Painting People: Figure Painting Today

"Full of stunning images and rich with first-hand experience of Britain's folk customs, this is a potent tome indeed from an authentic voice within the folkloric realm."
– Weird Walk

"A very timely book. Ben Edge weaves his personal story in with the traditional rituals of the British Isles. It's time to rediscover the real and this book tells you where to find it. Indispensable."
– Jarvis Cocker

"I travelled in these pages from one end of Britain to the other immersed in Ben Edge’s storytelling and his art, and I’ve learning as much about my contemporaries as I have about the roots of folklore [...] it’s through Ben’s artist response that the meaning of each tradition has an incredible contemporary potency."
– Sharon Ament, Director of the Museum of London

"Ben’s exquisite artwork adorns each page of this magnificent journey through the folk traditions of the British Isles. Ben has not only been instrumental in painstakingly recording folk history for prosperity but also in opening up its magic to a new generation, allowing it to continue to flourish and ignite imaginations to come!"
– Maxine Peake, actor

“Ben Edge is a natural-born storyteller. His fascinating blend of art, archive and anecdote opens a portal into the world of British folk customs, revealing an entire universe beyond.” 
– Holly EJ Black, writer, arts journalist and author of Artists on Art

“A book that positively glows with the magical luminance of the deep past. Ben writes with a unique love, sensitivity and wonder for the folk traditions and ancient monuments of Britain. A beautiful book from a trailblazer of folklore reborn and reimagined.”
– Dr Jennifer Wexler and Dr Neil Wilkin, archaeologists and curators of The World of Stonehenge, British Museum