Contributors include poets Tim Wells and David Porter, and artists Matt Oxborrow and Emma Louise Scutt. Much of the work was produced by the poet Emma Hammond, Illustrators Michael Cottage and Milos Simpraga, and Graphic designer Svea Carney as part of their residency in the Mercy studios.
‘We chose this theme as we were interested in subverting well known stories and themes. Some of the work is grotesque and uncomfortable yet in places it is quite beautiful. We wanted to make the stories even more fantastical and in some ways absurd. We have had submissions from some of the most exciting young artists and writers from all over the country and the standard of contributions has far surpassed what we were hoping for'.
There was also the opportunity to listen to recordings of the work, voiced by Guy Jackson and Robert Auton. Music was provided by sound artists Karl Brummer, Robin the Fog and Silverlink, and the work included a risque version of Lucy's first meeting with Mr Tumnus which reverberated eerily around the exhibition. Emma Hammond- the writer of this piece and various other bits of filth for the project, wrote of the experience-
‘I've probably never looked at as much porn as I have over the last few months or so- certainly not so much off-kilter porn anyway. The Young Pines project has kind of spilled over into bestiality territory which is nice. Looking for odd stuff for the Twitter and Facebook feeds has proved the old Internet rule 34- if it exists, there is pretty much certainly porn for it.
Writing about sex is challenging. Trying to make something sexy but not ridiculous is really hard- and the subject matter is kind of ridiculous anyway, which didn't help. But it was good; There were a few weird moments (like when I realised I was writing a story about a goat getting off with a child) and I googled some pretty strange stuff about horses cocks etc, but I was in my element (and not just because of the cocks).
If I could ever get a job where I have to research things such as the proper term for holes in trees, or the history of fairy tales etc then I think I'd be happy for the rest of time. Doing an internship with Mercy is good in this respect as the weird and niche and wonderful is kind of what they deal in. They have given us the space to do what we want and loads of encouragement. Oh, and a bit of cash too. It'd be good to come out of this with a clearer idea of how I can possibly get away with writing for a living- preferably at home in my pajamas, listening to Prog Rock'.
In their first four months Young Pines as a whole have worked for clients ranging from local arts organizations to massive corporations, providing all kinds of creative work from drawing and writing to video and web branding. With the help of Mercy-led workshops ranging from how to write funding applications to Business Development, who knows where The Pines might end up?