Witte Wieven Kit - A little home shrine
We should not forget the spirits of the Witte Wieven. If we treat them with kindness and respect, they may protect us in return.
This little portable altar is to remember them, and other spirits in our lives from our past that helped us shape who we are.
I believe there is much we can learn from them: from the beings, forces and presences that exist beyond our familiar human perspective. The post humans.
What you will find inside the box:
A match
A candle
A shadow image
An artefact (a pebble or twig found at a place where the Witte Wieven are said to live)
A picture
How to set up your shrine:
1. Carefully take out the objects until you reach the little spirit image attached to the back of the box.
2. Set the box upright in a special place in your home.
3. Place the pebble or other artefact inside the box. This becomes your altar.
4. Stand the shadow image upright and place the candle behind it, at a safe distance from the flame.
5. At night, light the candle and turn off the lights in your home. The shadow of the spirit will appear on your wall.
If you wish to visit the spirits of the Witte Wieven yourself, use the map to guide your way.
As a side quest I made this home shrine as part of my crowdfunding campaign for the exhibition I Know This Much Is True. The edition consists of 20 pieces (+ 2 AP), with 10 editions still available.
I absolutely loved making these boxes, and especially making the shadow image. I was inspired by the way shadows and paper were used to tell folkstories in communities.
Shadow puppetry is an old form of storytelling found in different parts of the world. In Chinese shadow theatre, for example, figures are held between a light source and a translucent screen, creating moving silhouettes that bring stories to life. In Java, the tradition of wayang kulit uses intricately carved leather figures and the light of an oil lamp or candle to tell stories from oral traditions.
The front image was made by my mom Bernadette Siemons- ten Raa
