The Spell - Womens vest

"The Spell" by Jenny Lupton

“This is the call, now is the hour to weave our gifts of magic and power”

The Spell is part of a series of works looking at women in history and mythology. 

In Scotland we are never more than fifty miles from a shore, so the sea is woven

through much of our history and folklore.

The simmering witch hunts were sparked into reality by James VI of Scotland.

He believed women caused the tempest that aborted his 1589 voyage home with

his new Danish bride, forcing his ship to turn back to Denmark. In 1590, he

instigated the Witch Trials in North Berwick, a coastal town in East Lothian. He

burned between 70 and 200 witches from that tiny region alone. Over four

thousand witches were burned across the whole of Scotland.

All allegorical words and images used to depict witches were lifted from the daily lives of women. Brooms, cats, cauldrons, singing (chanting), weaving, spinning,

using herbs to heal (potions) and gossiping. Some of the instruments of torture

used are chilling parallels to what we are currently experiencing. A Scold’s bridle (silencing) and an Iron Spider (mastectomies).

The woman in the piece is a Selkie, a mythical Celtic being who can shapeshift

between a human and a seal.

Legend tells us she controls the tides.

Here she rises out of the water, absorbing the light from the moon, creating

powerful rolling waves to contain the fire beneath them.

She has parted the waves, ensuring safe passage for the fish. Their skins are all

torn from one paper palette, to allow the colours to change as they flow across

the shoal.

They represent the struggle of women, resonant today when it feels like we are

swimming uphill against an ideology that threatens our right to womanhood.

The moon is bathing both woman and fish in her coppery glow, casting a spell of protection.

“This is the call, now is the hour to weave our gifts of magic and power”

Size Guide

Centimeters

Bust: Measure around the fullest part of your torso, just below your armpits.

Waist: Measure around your waistline.

Hips: Measure around the fullest part of your hips.

If you fall between the sizes, go for the larger of the two.

Product Specification

Certified Organic Cotton Vest Top, 155g/m2. Wash cool, hang dry. GM free. Not tested on animals. Does not contain animal-derived products. Printed in the UK with low waste printing tech. Made in a renewable energy powered factory audited for a wide range of social and sustainability criteria.