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Fergus Carmichael, A View from a Hill, 2025
Book tickets
New Contemporaries
Through visions of long-dead kings, demons and even the composer Elgar, the English landscape and Stephen’s life are reshaped by folkloric and mythic history. The film’s subversion of nationalistic tropes through prehistory has been influential on Carmichael’s documentary practice in which local tradition frequently collides with contemporary concerns. In these films, local legend and customs augment and deconstruct issues of ecological devastation and communal tension.
Introducing Pendas Fen, Fergus will explore the film’s relationship to his own practice and consider its relevance within a wave of increased interest in folk custom and legend. Do current revivals offer renewed relationships with shared history and landscape or merely present a more palatable, escapist nationalism?
‘Oh my country. I say over and over: I am one of your sons, it is true; I am, I am. Yet how shall I show my love?’Alan Clarke’s 1973 television play Penda’s Fen has somewhat puzzlingly become a cornerstone of folk horror cinema, a genre in which it doesn’t really fit. The film follows Stephen, an 18-year-old boy based in rural England whose nationalism, identity and sexuality unravel through supernatural encounters with mythical figures and legends. Unlike other hits from the genre, the film’s focus is less interested in esoteric horror but instead in the fracturing of a patriotic arcadia that has engulfed the impressionable protagonist.
Through visions of long-dead kings, demons and even the composer Elgar, the English landscape and Stephen’s life are reshaped by folkloric and mythic history. The film’s subversion of nationalistic tropes through prehistory has been influential on Carmichael’s documentary practice in which local tradition frequently collides with contemporary concerns. In these films, local legend and customs augment and deconstruct issues of ecological devastation and communal tension.
Introducing Pendas Fen, Fergus will explore the film’s relationship to his own practice and consider its relevance within a wave of increased interest in folk custom and legend. Do current revivals offer renewed relationships with shared history and landscape or merely present a more palatable, escapist nationalism?
Fergus Carmichael’s moving image practice explores contemporary interaction with tradition, landscape and folk culture. Employing durational case studies he investigates how communities seek to access spaces that engage with notions of local identity and interrogates the role which these narratives play within wider environmental and political climates.
Founded in 1949 by artists and for artists, New Contemporaries is committed to fostering an environment where emerging and early-career artists are empowered to shape their own futures. New Contemporaries supports emerging and early career artists through an annual artist development programme that culminates in a prestigious national touring exhibition, selected by internationally renowned artists. New Contemporaries’ commitment to fostering the next generation of talent is amplified through partnerships with major institutions such as the Institute of Contemporary Arts, MIMA Middlesbrough and South London Gallery.
The exhibition opens at the ICA, following its launch at three venues, KARST, The Levinsky Gallery and MIRROR in Plymouth (28 September – 7 December 2024).
New Contemporaries is supported by Arts Council England, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bridget Riley Art Foundation, HGG, Henry Moore Foundation, TFA London and Art Fund.
Founded in 1949 by artists and for artists, New Contemporaries is committed to fostering an environment where emerging and early-career artists are empowered to shape their own futures. New Contemporaries supports emerging and early career artists through an annual artist development programme that culminates in a prestigious national touring exhibition, selected by internationally renowned artists. New Contemporaries’ commitment to fostering the next generation of talent is amplified through partnerships with major institutions such as the Institute of Contemporary Arts, MIMA Middlesbrough and South London Gallery.
The exhibition opens at the ICA, following its launch at three venues, KARST, The Levinsky Gallery and MIRROR in Plymouth (28 September – 7 December 2024).
New Contemporaries is supported by Arts Council England, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bridget Riley Art Foundation, HGG, Henry Moore Foundation, TFA London and Art Fund.
Book tickets
06:40 pm
Wed, 26 Feb 2025
Cinema 1
Wednesday 26 February, 2025
6.40 - 8.30pm, Cinema 1
£6 full price / £4 concession / Free for those with income support
Ticket information
- All tickets that do not require ID (full price, disabled, income support) can be printed at home or stored in email
- For aged-based concession tickets (under 25, student and pensioner) please bring relevant ID to collect at the front desk before the event.
Access information
Cinema 1
- Both our Cinemas have step free access from The Mall and are accessible by ramp
- We have 1 wheelchair allocated space with a seat for a companion
- All seats are hard back, have a crushed velvet feel and they do not recline
- These are our seat size dimensions: W 42 x D 45 x H 52
- Arm rest either side of the seat dimensions: L 27 x W 7 x H 20
for the following requirements:
- We have unassigned seating. If you require a specific seat, please reserve this in advance
- Free for visitors where ticket prices are a barrier, please email
Times
6.40 – 7pm Fergus Carmichael’s introduction
7 – 8.30pm Penda’s Fen, dir. Alan Clarke, UK 1974, 89 min.
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