Vikings, miners, refugees, enslavers and good old Albion himself … Ben Edge reveals how his dynamic new understanding of Britain today was triggered by seeing a procession of druids march past a KFC
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toy poodle called Lunar arrives at the door of Ben Edge’s studio in a furry blur of excitement. There’s also a full-size fibreglass horse, already halfway through the door. It’s being ridden by a mannequin who is wearing a garland of artificial flowers and, under that, a shirt patterned with green men, Uffington White Horse references and oak leaves. It’s identical to the one worn by the living, breathing artist standing next to me.
A highlight of Edge’s upcoming exhibition at London’s Fitzrovia Chapel, the sculpture is titled Where Must We Go in Search of Our Better Selves. It’s a self-portrait like no other, riffing on the magnificent equestrian monuments of the Renaissance, and honouring the Garland King, a figure from the recesses of British folklore, who each May rides through the Derbyshire village of Castleton. “The Garland King has become a symbol for me,” Edge says. “I see it as representing a process of finding your own nature, of going inward.”
Ten years ago, Edge stumbled across a druid ceremony at London’s Tower Hill. It was the spring equinox, it turns out: “As I came out of the station, I saw in the distance this line of people in white cloaks walking past a red phone box, a KFC, a Wetherspoon’s. They assembled in a circle, and started talking about this idea of reconnecting to nature, and that London will one day be reclaimed by nature. They were putting seeds on the ground. It was a real awakening for me.”
