THE SECRET DEN
a residency on the Dartington Estate, April - May 2022
investigating land ownership and belonging
![]()
“Private ownership of the earth did not depend on the law, but was created by human toil”
I searched for a spot to build my den in the forest. I felt anxious, questioning my legitimacy to be there, scared someone might see me and tell me to leave. I found a secret spot, hidden by a large fallen tree, where two smaller fallen trees leant together, holding each other up - the beginning of a den: nature’s invitation.
I began to build, with only my hands for tools, dragging logs of wood, fitting them together, interlocking branches woven with sticks and vines. As I returned, day after day, the initial fear melted away, this patch was my patch, I belonged here.
When I strode out into the night to sleep in my den, I was not fearful, I was returning home. I hung a blanket up across the open door and snuggled up in a sleeping bag, cocooned in the woven wood, drifting in the sea of song of forest and dreams.
investigating land ownership and belonging
“Private ownership of the earth did not depend on the law, but was created by human toil”John Locke, 1629
I searched for a spot to build my den in the forest. I felt anxious, questioning my legitimacy to be there, scared someone might see me and tell me to leave. I found a secret spot, hidden by a large fallen tree, where two smaller fallen trees leant together, holding each other up - the beginning of a den: nature’s invitation.
I began to build, with only my hands for tools, dragging logs of wood, fitting them together, interlocking branches woven with sticks and vines. As I returned, day after day, the initial fear melted away, this patch was my patch, I belonged here.
When I strode out into the night to sleep in my den, I was not fearful, I was returning home. I hung a blanket up across the open door and snuggled up in a sleeping bag, cocooned in the woven wood, drifting in the sea of song of forest and dreams.
Inspired by my research and experiences, I also created a track based on folk song, field recordings and spoken word, listen here:
