Blood Rites - Ritual Theatre at the Horse Hospital London

DIY, underground ritual performance series, focused on the dark feminine and the liberation of the human shadow self, and the constraints and lack of autonomy it has to unfurl amongst a modernised fast paced patriarchal world. So we counteract it through the practice of witchcraft, worship of the deity/demoness  Lilith, and gothic horror in Blood Rites, where we initiate a new coven member into the cult of Lilith, through blood sacrifice.

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Seven black velvet cloaks were made. Additionally, six pieces were made to fit each performer, tops and skirts, crafted from green cotton, using a Japanese resist dying technique shibori, and naturally dyed them with madder root powder to give it a red and muddy color. Alongside raffia woven holsters for their ritual blades.

 

The idea behind it was to give the impression that these are clothes that the coven has worn during their previous rituals and almost as if made from the earth around them. They made the performers presence feel unified through the mud and blood and ecstatic environment. 

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Black and white photography by Veronica Maier