
Emily Hesse
Soil is at the core of Emily Hesse’s practice. In “The Witches’ Institution (W.I.),” the British artist’s largest exhibition to date, it appears in the form of clay, often unfired. Here, the material becomes an unexpected, potent tool used to build a new worldview through narratives of witchcraft that recognize being in non-human physical substances.
In the Tetley’s monumental atrium, two distinct yet related works (both 2022) set the show’s tone. CLÆG is a walkable, deep, and malleable layer of earth—sourced on site as well as from the rivers Aire and Tees—that covers the entire floor. Alternative