Tim Shaw Talk & Film Screening: The Burning of Lifting the Curse + Fireside Folk Club
Belfast-born sculptor Tim Shaw is known for his raw, immersive works that fuse ancient storytelling with urgent social and political themes. His practice spans sculpture, installation, film, performance, and robotics. His public commissions—The Drummer in Truro, The Rites of Dionysus at the Eden Project, and Man on Fire at the Imperial War Museum—confront war, oppression, and the human condition with primal intensity. Man on Fire recently won the 2024 PSSA Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture, capturing the horror of conflict through a figure engulfed in flames.
For this special event, Shaw will present The Burning of Lifting the Curse, a film documenting the ritual burning of a votive figure originally created in response to a curse placed on the Royal Academy and all of its members by artists Gilbert and George. Lifting the Curse was burned in a field at Higher Spargo, near Falmouth, where two ley lines intersect. A Pellar Man performed incantations, dousing the figure first in water, then in fire. A song was sung, dedicated to those fleeing tyranny and war—echoing the suffering of people in Ukraine and Gaza.
A photograph of the burning became the cover for The Court, a track from Peter Gabriel’s recent album, i/o, and film footage was used during his worldwide tour.
Shaw will share the full story and take part in an audience Q&A.
The Fireside Folk Club will begin with a performance from Dina Ipavic, who sang during the original ritual of The Burning of Lifting the Curse. She will perform Groung, followed by an option to gather in The Cornish Bank’s back garden, where a fire will be lit, and live folk music will continue into the evening.
Collections will be taken for UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
