• Homepage
  • Prosiectau/Projects
  • Other work
  • About/Contact
  • Facilitation
  • Blog
Menu

Lindsey Colbourne (Heledd Wen)

Nantperis
LL55 4UL
Arlunydd Artist
Arlunydd Artist

Lindsey Colbourne (Heledd Wen)

  • Homepage
  • Prosiectau/Projects
  • Other work
  • About/Contact
  • Facilitation
  • Blog

Land Lines and Dangerous Liaisons

May 7, 2025 lindsey colbourne

Marleen at the dntrance to Old Sandquarry, Nottlun


Pontio Cymunedau Gwledig - Pobl, Prosesau, Lleoedd // Brückenschlag zwischen ländlichen Gemeinden – Menschen, Prozesse, Orte // Bridging Rural Communities - People, Process, Places


It’s 6am. I’m woken by an incredibly loud combination of repeated pealing of greenfinch, gun-shot and church bells.

Dorothee showing us that Mary standing on a crescent moon

This is Münsterland, a tiny part of North West Germany I’ve got to know a bit over the last month. A predominantly Catholic region, with its heavy clay soils, sandy springs, calcium pearls, pollarded and neat everythings.

A new house comes to Schöppingen

Its one hundred and something metre ‘mountains’ with far, far views, covered in huge straight ploughed fields, aerials, windmills, shrines and warblers.

A place where you are (although probably only if you are over 50) a ‘clay person’ speaking Clay Platt or a sand person speaking Sand Platt, or a refugee or a migrant worker in the huge dairy or aberttoir, speaking all sorts of languages and a lot younger.

Traditional farm nestles up to a huge industrial dairy and windmill

In this village/town, Schöppingen, of 8000 people (living a strange mix of remnants of peasant farms, industrial and suburban rural and urban aesthetics and buildings together with a surprising variety of shops and 3 supermarkets), everyone says ‘hallo’ or ‘mourn’ (which is the clay Platt version) as you pass. History and tradition is cherished and censored (Nazi’s appropriated a lot of it), and everything and everyone is organised into Associations. The volunteer Fire Brigade is one with its brassbands, a building the Easter bonfire and providing the music, food and drink, taking the photos, lightly overseeing Health and Safety.

Visit to the Fishing Association with Clement. They breed fish to an age where they can survive the high nitrate levels in the streams

Here 4 weeks ago, I entered the other part of the village - the Kunstler*Dorf (artists’ village - the asterix in the middle indicating gender neutral version of the male artist), with Marleen and Micha from the Syndikat Gefährliche Liebschaften (the Collective of Dangerous Liaisons). I don’t think there is a version of the Kunstler*Dorf in the UK? But here, almost every state seems to have some kind of artist-provision and funded residencies like this. We, here at the Kunstler*Dorf are an international bunch - currently as I write, Germany, Nepal, Bangladesh, Morocco, Columbia, New York. Mostly writers and composers with a smattering of visual artists, on a slow turnover (most here for 3-4 months). I have idly wondered from time to time if anyone from Wales has been here before.

Kunstler*Dorf Schöppingen

The reason I am here is thanks to a Cyfnewid Cultural Bridge Exchange between Dyffryn Dyfodol and Syndikat Gefährliche Liebschaften (The Collective of Dangerous Liasons). You can watch a podcast with them both talking together about their work here. The Syndikat is a performance collective who use clever engaged processes to create place-based interventions in rural areas.

We are here to work on a project called ‘Land Lines’, working with 5 other creatives commissioned by the Centre for Literature based 15km from Schöppingen, near Havixbeck. We are together to come up with a ‘performance’ in the form of a (4 x repeated) bus tour between Havixbeck and Schöppingen in September 2025.

Clog of Clay experiment

 

our land lines Investigations so far


The Syndikat have a set of pretty clear ‘steps’ that they use in all their work, starting with finding people to talk to. So we set off to do just that, starting with asking our hosts who to talk to, and going from there. The result is a web of entanglements of ideas, places, people. This has included conversations (40 hours maybe? probably more), walks, hosting a tombola stall at Frühlingsfest (springfestival) with ‘payment’ for a turn being a conversation, taking part in workshops, trips, site visits, researching and me becoming slightly addicted to cheese with fenugreek seeds.

As well as our little house at Kunster*Dorf, we have use of the ‘exhibition hall’ next door (due to late cancellation by artists who were to have an exhibition here). It is huge and spacious and echo-ey. We have established the ‘operations centre’ in one room and I’m making it extremely messy with sand and clay experiments in the other. My ‘materials led’ investigation of the clay and sand here took me a bit by surprise - but it seems to have worked as a ‘way in’ to get literally grounded in this place.

Our current investigations wall

My impromptu ‘exhibition’ of sand socks and clay clogs (give an artist space and they will use it)

This is a glimpse into what our investigations have looked like so far…

clog experiments (3 of 4).jpg
ulla's confusing place (1 of 1)-2.jpg
Spokenkieker for Future planning wall (2 of 12).jpg
Amateur Funk visit 4.5.25 (1 of 35).jpg
Amateur Funk visit 4.5.25 (9 of 35).jpg
walk with Elizabeth (11 of 42).jpg
walk with Elizabeth (42 of 42).jpg
walk with Elizabeth (7 of 42).jpg
walk with Elizabeth (1 of 42).jpg
sand quarry visits 16.4.25 (20 of 37).jpg
sand quarry visits 16.4.25 (30 of 37).jpg
IMG_3121.jpeg
fuhlingsfest 27.4.25 (4 of 25).jpg
fuhlingsfest 27.4.25 (15 of 25).jpg
Spokenkieker for Future planning wall (3 of 12).jpg
space head.jpeg
exhibition (1 of 1).jpg
fuhlingsfest 27.4.25 (18 of 25).jpg
plant antenna 20.4.25 (6 of 7).jpg
water excursion 26.4.25 (18 of 38).jpg
water excursion 26.4.25 (17 of 38).jpg
water excursion 26.4.25 (32 of 38).jpg
Clay Clogs 21.4.25 (5 of 13).jpg
water excursion 26.4.25 (22 of 38).jpg
water in the baumberge explanation (1 of 2).jpg
Liber Mirabilis 17.4.25 (1 of 12).jpg
Liber Mirabilis 17.4.25 (3 of 12).jpg
fridge poetry vision (1 of 1).jpg
Spokenkieker for Future planning wall (12 of 12).jpg
Landlines hauteseat 11.4.25 (3 of 55).jpg
Amateur Funk visit 4.5.25 (18 of 35).jpg
Amateur Funk visit 4.5.25 (19 of 35).jpg

An exchange and melding of working practices

Although our ‘practices’ come from different angles (all members of the Syndikat come from a theatre background), we share an understanding of meaningful engagement and open-ended, emergent, creative practice. Their specific focus on rural areas has helped me notice how working in a rural area is for me so ‘usual’ that I’d forgotten to think of it as something specific.

The most solid ‘difference’ in our practices is that the Syndikat’s work is about creating a collaborative performance, holding up some kind of mirror to a place they are new to, whereas I create processes of collaboration in places that I live in (or near), that are more about ‘finding out together’, not necessarily with an end point. But the distinction is not nearly as simple as that.

I think i’ll talk about that in another blog, and perhaps even better, in conversation with the Syndikat.

Anyway, now the nightingale is singing outside my room. It must be time for bed!


Older Posts →

If you'd like to sign up to my blog, please do so here

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

You can search the blogs here:

Featured
Land Lines and Dangerous Liaisons
May 7, 2025
Land Lines and Dangerous Liaisons
May 7, 2025
May 7, 2025
Wrth Wraidd_-136.jpg
Dec 5, 2024
carreg creative - our first year
Dec 5, 2024
Dec 5, 2024
Sidney Nolan Trust (219 of 245).jpg
Jun 19, 2024
Turning off the Sat Nav! Moving towards relational/emergent in artistic practice
Jun 19, 2024
Jun 19, 2024
carreg creative 10.png
Mar 14, 2024
Tân a Llif: [sut I fynd] i mewn ac allan o’r cabinet - [how to get] into and out of the cabinet
Mar 14, 2024
Mar 14, 2024
argraffnod fy milltir sgwar.png
Feb 8, 2024
Stori'r Tir Dyffryn Peris
Feb 8, 2024
Feb 8, 2024
whole table Nick Pipe.jpg
Nov 15, 2023
Trees part 1: Corlan y Coed - Treefold
Nov 15, 2023
Nov 15, 2023
IMG_1304.jpg
Oct 2, 2023
Helfa Drysor Ddoe, Heddiw, Yfory Dolgarrog Past, Present, Future Treasure Hunt
Oct 2, 2023
Oct 2, 2023
Ysgol Arbrofol At Ein Coed - Tree Sense Experimental School
Feb 6, 2023
Ysgol Arbrofol At Ein Coed - Tree Sense Experimental School
Feb 6, 2023
Feb 6, 2023
Sidney Nolan Trust (55 of 245).jpg
Sep 16, 2022
Ghosts
Sep 16, 2022
Sep 16, 2022
6A99B09B-1B46-468C-ADEF-F269F9151D8A.jpeg
Jul 14, 2022
Manual for Social Change: Suzanne Lacy
Jul 14, 2022
Jul 14, 2022
Has Covid-19 killed the live event?
Feb 4, 2022
Has Covid-19 killed the live event?
Feb 4, 2022
Feb 4, 2022
Dinas Dinlle Performance 17.10.21 (9 of 22).jpg
Dec 30, 2021
Pethau Bychain - Small Things: Going Terrestrial in Collective
Dec 30, 2021
Dec 30, 2021
Screen Shot 2021-11-09 at 18.31.33.png
Nov 9, 2021
Golchi+
Nov 9, 2021
Nov 9, 2021
IMG_8444.JPG
Oct 25, 2021
Zapanistas in Caernarfon! Journey for Life
Oct 25, 2021
Oct 25, 2021
IMG_8017.JPG
Sep 10, 2021
Deity Dyfodol? What deities do we need for the future?
Sep 10, 2021
Sep 10, 2021
Cofio-remembering cyfnod clo (2 of 16).jpg
Jul 18, 2021
Cofio. Remembering
Jul 18, 2021
Jul 18, 2021
Geocache Bach 3.jpg
Jun 14, 2021
Cipolwg - Nano News from Utopias Bach
Jun 14, 2021
Jun 14, 2021
Moon in the pond and trees (1 of 4).jpg
Mar 20, 2021
LLeugylch Anneal in Awen
Mar 20, 2021
Mar 20, 2021
Screen Shot 2021-02-13 at 19.19.04.png
Feb 15, 2021
cipolwg - Nano News from Utopias Bach
Feb 15, 2021
Feb 15, 2021
Hud Magic 2 Llai.jpg
Dec 21, 2020
Hud am ddod o hyd i'n ffordd yn 2021 - Magic for finding our way in 2021
Dec 21, 2020
Dec 21, 2020
Metamorffosis WebAd Square2.jpg
Dec 17, 2020
Metamorffosis 2021: Galwad am Gynigion - Call for Proposals
Dec 17, 2020
Dec 17, 2020
sunflower miniature (1 of 1).jpg
Oct 3, 2020
Utopias bach - revolution in miniature
Oct 3, 2020
Oct 3, 2020
Saffaru Safari.jpg
Sep 3, 2020
Crwydro Crone Cast - Lessons from a Surrealist Saffaru
Sep 3, 2020
Sep 3, 2020
Corlan+final+piece.jpg
Aug 13, 2020
Côr - lan Siwan (songs of Dyffryn Peris in precarious times)
Aug 13, 2020
Aug 13, 2020
IMG_5845.JPG
Aug 7, 2020
A little bit of Anticipatory History in Niwbwrch, Newborough
Aug 7, 2020
Aug 7, 2020
Llinellau Llif cydestun (20 of 28).jpg
Jun 22, 2020
Llinellau Llif Mapping Plas Bodfa
Jun 22, 2020
Jun 22, 2020
pond still for film (1 of 1).jpg
Jun 18, 2020
Côr-ona Pond Song
Jun 18, 2020
Jun 18, 2020
Picture1.png
May 13, 2020
Pandemig y Russian Flu a’i effaith ar bentrefi’r chwareli - The Russian Flu Pandemic and its Effect on the Welsh quarrying districts
May 13, 2020
May 13, 2020
Bwystori 1 (1 of 1).jpg
Apr 2, 2020
Online Tentacular : Tentacular ar-lein
Apr 2, 2020
Apr 2, 2020
IMG_5898.JPG
Feb 17, 2020
Where are the "Eco-visionaries"?
Feb 17, 2020
Feb 17, 2020