Nicola Hill 
 

I have been thinking about this project since reading Neil Gaimon’s 2011 novel American Gods. I was fascinated by the idea that all the Gods ever worshipped by humankind are still around and able to interact with each other and with us. I am also very interested in the concept of genius loci -found worldwide, across countries and cultures – that everywhere has its own god or spirit which both protects the place and provides its distinctive spirit. I found myself wondering how these old nature gods would feel about mankind’s careless destruction of the environment and each other. I believe they would weep.

For this first part of the project I have researched six gods of the British Isles: the Morrigan, the Celtic deity of death and warfare,  Cernunnus, the horned god or nature and woodland, associated with the Green Man, Eostre, Belanus, the shining god of the sun, Epona, protector of horses and Arawn, Lord of the Otherworld. In future, I hope to include the Judeo-Christian, Hindu, traditional African, Mexican, Native American and other gods from  around the world to create a large installation covering a whole wall. The effect of these many weeping faces will be unsettling and upsetting. A reminder that we need to act to save our planet or the old gods will not just weep, they will unleash their powers, wiping us from the face of the earth.