Children of Ancasta by Moylin Chong

Saturday 25th January – Thursday 5th March 2020

God's House Tower, Town Quay Road, Southampton, SO14 2NY

Moylin Chong is inspired by marionettes, myths and folklore. The uncanny characters in her work communicate stories and fables that are often unknown or overlooked.

Children of Ancasta included a number of figurative sculptures and a collection of animated drawings informed by local folklore and oral histories. Moylin’s research for this project led to a particular interest in local deities and guardians that protect Southampton’s coastline. The exhibition’s namesake, Ancasta, is a lesser known goddess who was worshipped by the Romans. An inscription about her was found in Bitterne, connecting her to the River Itchen and the shores of Southampton. Today this inscription can be seen at the SeaCity Museum.

Moylin’s sculptures were exhibited throughout God’s House Tower, leading the viewer to discover new parts of the building in the quest to find each figure. They were made using found objects and materials collected from the waterfront.

The work responds to the theme of that year’s programme, GHT: Beside the Sea, which prompts us to consider how significant changes to the shoreline have shaped our modern city. By revisiting and reimagining the characters in Southampton’s forgotten folklore, Moylin invites us to reconnect with the coast and our cultural heritage.

The exhibition ran from 25th January 2020 to 15th March 2020 at God’s House Tower.

About the Artist

Moylin is an early career artist who works in a range of mediums varying from paintings and illustrations to sculpture. In particular, Moylin focuses on the themes of folkore and storytelling for her artworks. Although they are reminiscent of childhood toys, it is inspired by a heavy theme of dissociating ones reality from another. She creates characters and creatures that belong to other worlds, but altogether provoke mystery and familiarity as well. With a keen interest in storytelling, theatre, marionettes and folklore, Moylin’s work is eerie, uncanny and ambiguous.