Carolyn Sutton

'Witches in word, not deed'  by Carolyn Sutton is displayed at Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries  until 17th Nov.

"Carolyn Sutton’s higher degrees in library science and archival administration, heritage and exhibition design, and studio art/ photography inform her work as an artist and interpretation designer. Witches in Word, Not Deed stems from her interest in matters of social justice, difficult heritage, and folklore. She has been researching the witchcraft trials for many years, but it wasn’t until the culmination of all these things that the exhibition could come together in a way that felt right to her. It is an imperative asking us to remember the lives of the victims with dignity and compassion. It cautions us against the further exploitation of this history.

 

Witches in Word, Not Deed remembers 13 women wrongly accused and persecuted for witchcraft in Scotland under the Witchcraft Act of 1563. Through personalised and historically accurate dresses imprinted with the words that condemned them, the exhibition brings attention to the power of words and the loss of identity and life in which the witchcraft trials resulted. The exhibition is a heartfelt memorial to the roughly 4000 people accused of witchcraft in Scotland, nearly 85% of them women."