New Publication: TRYST

I am pleased to announce the release of TRYST, a new artist publication exploring the enduring legacy of The Battle of Brunanburh through sculpture, text, and landscape.

The publication has grown from my sculptural work TRYST, originally exhibited as part of Into the Wyld at the Williamson Art Gallery in 2024. Bringing together the original Old English poem of The Battle of Brunanburh alongside a modern English translation, the publication unfolds across fifty pages, each accompanied by an image of one of the fifty crimson mycelium-like Saxon swords that formed the original installation.

My interest in Brunanburh emerged through wider research into folklore, landscape, and the stories that become attached to place. Inspired by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the long-standing association of the Wirral with the battle, TRYST considers how history and mythology become intertwined over time. The sculptural swords act as echoes of stories embedded within the land, suggesting a landscape that remembers both real events and imagined histories.

Fought in 937 AD, the Battle of Brunanburh is often regarded as one of the most significant conflicts of the early medieval period. Although its exact location remains uncertain, the Wirral continues to be considered one of the strongest candidates. Recent archaeological discoveries and ongoing research into the area's Viking heritage have helped renew interest in the peninsula's connection to this pivotal event.

More than a historical retelling, TRYST is an attempt to engage with the afterlife of the battle. Through the pairing of text and image, the publication reflects on memory, place, and the ways stories survive long after their origins have been forgotten.

Published by MATMAT, the publishing imprint of Material Matters, TRYST is available now from the MATMAT Library at Nettle and at selected Material Matters events.

— Patric Rogers