Merwif is an evolving body of work centred on an imagined female marsh guardian, a figure rooted in a specific bioregion rather than mythic abstraction. She is neither maiden nor siren, but a middle-aged woman: marginalised, practical, quietly authoritative, and fiercely protective of her land and waters.

Working with locally gathered reeds and marsh plants, I produced cyanotype prints on fabrics carrying personal and domestic histories. These were hand-stitched into a large-scale sculptural garment, part costume, part landscape, part shelter. The piece operates as both object and embodiment, holding traces of place within its material structure.

The work extends beyond the gallery through site-responsive performance and environmental action. At Oare Nature Reserve and subsequent locations, the Merwife figure occupies marshland spaces through ritual gesture, slow movement, and direct engagement with terrain. These actions draw on folkloric traditions while reframing them through contemporary feminist practice.

Rather than reviving folklore as nostalgia, Merwife situates ritual as a living methodology. The project aligns with contemporary artists who are reworking folk customs into inclusive, place-based practices, using performance to reconnect communities with local ecologies and shared custodianship.

Performances and Exhibitions:
Oare Nature Reserve, Kent — March 2024
UCA — April 2024
Medway as My Muse — August 2025
Sarah Baulch Gallery — August 2025
Grey Water Gallery — October–December 2025