A Gallus Un

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A Gallus Un is an immersive installation exploring feminine folklore, superstition and the stories that gather around women in rural communities.

The work grew from research into the notebooks and writings of Lincolnshire folklorist Mabel Peacock, whose collections of dialect phrases, charms and local tales reveal a world shaped by belief, rumour and imagination. The title itself comes from a phrase once used to describe a troublesome or unruly woman, spoken half in mockery and half in fear.

The installation unfolds as a circular environment of large calico banners, painted, stitched and layered with everyday materials, feathers and small symbolic objects. Moving between an outer daylight circle and a darker inner space, the banners gather fragments of folklore: witches and familiars, drowned women, magpies, charms, and whispered warnings. These figures appear not as moral lessons but as ambiguous presences, suspended between fear and fascination.

Sound moves quietly through the installation, composed from recorded voices repeating fragments of folklore and dialect. The murmuring audio drifts through the space, echoing the ways stories pass between people, altered, remembered and retold.

Rather than illustrating specific narratives, A Gallus Un creates an environment where fragments of belief, memory and myth can accumulate. The work invites visitors to move slowly through a shared folkloric landscape where women’s voices, fears and forms of knowledge continue to linger.

Commissioned by North Lincolnshire Museum for the Rural Life Museum.

Sound design by Peter Richards
Selected photography by Marie-Laurence Boisvert

Installation documentation will be added following the exhibition installation.