Mesolithic Interventions

On Monday evening I visited the York Art Gallery where the Artists in the Archive exhibition 'Mesolithic Interventions' is showing.    Four artists created a new installation inspired by a period of research into the Mesolithic period.  Mark Hildred, Kippa Matthews, Damian Murphy and John Oxley formed Artists in the Archive.

Eleven thousand years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, our prehistoric ancestors started to settle in Britain again, spending their lives hunting, gathering and fishing.

The period lasting for the next 5000 years is known as the 'Mesolithic'.

It was of particular interest as this is the time when the marks were made on the stones on the moor I visited recently and I was intrigued to know how other artists interpreted their findings after exploring the era locally.

Photography, video, sound and interactive digital technology formed the basis of the installation.  The photographs were rich and beautiful, and highlighted antler tools, flint and birch trees (Star Carr, an area explored as part of the archive, would have been covered in birch forest).

The exhibition asks "What can we learn from the people who lived at Star Carr during the Mesolithic and how can we apply this to our lives today?"

I was delighted to learn about Native Awareness  during the evening, and think one of their Native Skills courses, perhaps Flint Knapping and Stone Tools would be perfect for me.