The Tales of Waspbourne & the Accursed Fates
About this project
The Tales of Waspbourne & the Accursed Fates is a visual parable reflecting on the lives of a trinity of Fates. Fates originated in classical mythology as powerful deities who decided the Birth, Life and Death-rites of all living beings. The Fates are also portrayed as the Three Weird Sisters (or ‘witches’) from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They were a trio of which hijinx and mischief was key – ultimately compelling Macbeth into scrupulous wrong-doings in his climb to power. Drawing on inspiration from the Fates, we present the three Accursed Fates of Waspbourne manor and the tales and curses they bear. Our first witch was burnt at the stake many moons ago. Screaming affront the smoking manor, not half-dead nor half-alive her soul lives on, cursing all who enter her circle to be burnt in the same manner in which she had been punished herself. Our second witch took a whimsical wander in the pumpkin patch one day- to her misfortune, a scarecrow enticed her into his reach and snatched her soul, leaving the poor girl cursed to be a scarecrow forever, whilst he walked away plainly in human form. This Accursed Fate is now condemned for eternity to stand amongst the crops, awaiting a wandering passerby to snatch and relinquish her curse too. Our final witch suffered the betrayal of her Georgian lover. Awaiting his return from serving the kingdom, she gazed longingly into her dressing table mirror. Suddenly a vision was bestoweth upon her, of him, romantically entangled with a perilous harlot. In a fit of rage she brandished her knife and ended them both. After awakening from her rage and realising the sins committed, she could no longer live with the guilt she had bestowed upon her soul. She, too, fell on the knife which she held. Now fuelled by vengeance and grief, she awaits in her boudoir with the knife she carried, hoping for her husband to return once more and ends any man who would be unfortunate enough to cross her path. When approaching Waspbourne manor, one should tread lightly by foot and be wary of the Fates who abide here. For it is commonly known that no man, beast or fairy may be safe in the path of these vengeful women.
The Tales of Waspbourne & the Accursed Fates
Credits:
DIRECTION: XAILA / HATTI REES @HATTI_REES & RINAT GRIGORI @RINATGRIGORI
PHOTOGRAPHY: RINAT GRIGORI @RINATGRIGORI
TALENT: HATTI REES @HATTI_REES
HAIR: CHARLIE LE MINDU @CHARLIELEMINDU
MAKEUP: HATTI REES @HATTI_REES
PROSTHETICS MADE BY: CC @TEACHIN_PROPS_N_SFX @MAGIC_MECHANIQUE
ALL CLOTHES SEEN MADE BY: HATTI REES @HATTI_REES
SHOES: HATTI REES @HATTI_REES X DANIEL CHARKOW @SHOE_MAN_DAN
PROPS AND SET DESIGN: RINAT GRIGORI @RINATGRIGORI
LOCATION: RINAT GRIGORI @RINATGRIGORI WITH THANKS TO @WOWOCAMPSITE AND POYNINGS PUMPKIN PATCH
ASSISTED BY: AMY STAR @IAM.AMY.STAR
Here's our Q&A with the artist Hatti Rees:
Tell us a little about you.
I’ve been dreaming of alternate realities my whole life. I grew up in nature which is full of imagination for me. Making things with my hands, writing stories and acting out narrative performances was the way I knew how to communicate. I was cripplingly shy and sensitive but narrative and visual communication was the language I felt able to speak. I’ve always observed the world and listened and watched I feel, at the small details, the small interactions. I have always felt strongly connected to the voices of spirits passed too and I feel the stories that emanate from the second-hand clothes I buy or magical objects that have a mnemonic sense of history. I always feel deep connections and inspiration from new places which is why I travel as much as I can to experience alternate histories and narratives. I have always been responding to this stimulation however I really started to use image-making as an outlet whilst I was at University to escape from the constraints I felt from institutionalised education. I have so much to say and it can manifest through image, sound, film, garment-design or even writing. Even though creation and destruction was always at my core, becoming an artist was a total accident – it just started as an escapism from unfortunate realities which progressively became more urgent and politically charged.
What themes and issues are you exploring with your work and why?
Deconstructing identity is central to my practice. I work with personas through fashion, art, imagery, beauty, video, and sound. It is an essential part of my existence to aim to understand and expand identity and representation. Inhabiting different personas links to my commitment to representing the trans and gender-questioning communities of which I am part and seek to illuminate the struggles and issues facing those communities. I constantly strive to reexamine what is identity through biological, physical, and creative means. I am also driven by environmental issues, representation of minority voices and the human relationship to death and comic tragedy. I find death fascinating as it is the only unknown of life and processing death through comedy and the grotesque alleviates the fear we face as humans. Environmentally, I always use ethical vegan products and support ethical brands, I never buy ‘new’ clothes from stores, and where I can I use refillable products to save on waste. I also consistently try to consider my footprint and I think this is the best way we can do our part to help Earth.
Would you consider your work political?
I would consider my existence and work inherently politically charged. My existence feels like it has always been received as a form of protest. Like many LGBTQIA+ people I have received multiple accounts of harassment, assault and abuse. Our presence to society is often met with reaction. Regardless of what we do, it feels it is a political existence. I think there's an interesting boundary between political activism and confronting reality and complete escapism. Sometimes I want to escape more and sometimes I feel it’s necessary to challenge the issues I feel are important. For now I mainly want to create for the joy and the power this magic holds, I spent a long time asleep, in the dark and very afraid.
What kind of impact do you hope to have with your images?
I would hope to encourage people to explore fluidity and identity and also start conversations about gender and gender presentation. At least, to encourage expression throughout creativity and perhaps the idea that you can create/be whatever you want to be.
Can you talk to us about your creative process?
At the moment, I wait until I feel a really strong and urgent feeling of the character until I can see and feel the details of their face and their history. Or I feel a concept presented before me in film or reality that I would like to explore.
What are the underlying influences in your work?
I’m always drawn to the presentation of womxn in cinema and the consistent narratives that perpetuate certain periods in history. I also always go back to nature for inspiration- places can speak of so many stories to be told. I’m also fascinated by death and the surrounding concepts, dark-comedy, gore, murder mysteries. Species hybridity. How far can I bend the beauty of identity through technology, makeup, and clothing?
Which emerging artists do you admire?
I really admire prosthetics technicians and SFX creators for film. I love @worshipmina and accounts like @imitation.of.life, @worldofsfx, @therickbaker and @fredrikheyman . They all work with sculpture or digital affects outside the body that then is formed onto the body and I find this so admirable. It is a skill I wish to develop and work on myself. I also love @Sheidlina s work with identity and narratives they are so beautifully shot and always surprising.
Who are your masters, if any?
Aahh, I tend to always go back to people who present really interesting characters. Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, David Lynch, Yorgos Lanthimos, Quentin Tarantino, Arthur Penn, Colleen Atwood, Helena-Bonham Carter, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson I have so many! I would like to be somewhere between Burton and Manson in the future.
What do you think about the representation of the female body in art and fashion today?
I’m not really sure what is happening in fashion right now. It feels a very uncertain time for us. I think concepts are getting more and more reduced and we receive less fantasy. Or maybe there is fantasy, but it’s not for me, it's for the consumer. I think in COVID19 people have realised that our physical bodies and relationships and less egoistic presentation is more important now. I feel the industry is now representing more bodies and slowly the perception of what beautiful means is changing.
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