Jacob Cartwright & Nick Jordan
Larksong | 19.45mins | 2023

Larksong is an exploratory documentary that journeys through a landscape on the edge of Pennine Moors in Northern England. With an 18th century nonconformist chapel as a central motif, the film captures a distinctive history and topography, laced with the imprints of the traditional textile workers, mills and industries that shaped the environment.

The film’s narrative is framed by a poem, written from the perspective of a chapel pew. Connecting to an emotional, tactile sense of memory, rather than the language of history and temporality, the poem weaves together social, industrial and ecological themes; ruminating upon the changing landscape, social mores and working practices that have been witnessed over time.

The musical score to Larksong has been created by traditional folk instruments, such as harmonium and recorder, along with field-recordings and sounds derived from hand-textile tools and mechanisms, such as spinning wheels, hand looms and drop spindles. The film also features visual projections, created from foraged plants, gathered raw wool and hand-stitched 16mm film, alongside songs composed with lyrics from gravestone inscriptions found in the chapel’s burial grounds.

Larksong, stills

See here for Larksong installation images and related works

Limited edition publication available, designed by the artists and featuring Emily Oldfield’s poem.
Order here

Soundtrack available on vinyl from Folklore Tapes

A film by Nick Jordan & Jacob Cartwright
Soundtrack & chapel projections: David Chatton Barker, Mary Stark, Sam McLoughlin, Bridget Hayden
Poetry: Emily Oldfield
Editor: Nick Jordan
Local historian: Stephen Oldfield
Larks of Dean collection: The Whitaker Museum

Commissioned by the British Textile Biennial and English Heritage

Larksong / exceprt #1

Larksong / exceprt #2

Larksong / exceprt #3

Larksong teaser: David Chatton Barker & Sam McLoughlin sonically hand-carding wool