OY - Mythology of the Moor

Oy! Mythology of the Moor

In the Cornish tongue, “Oy” means Egg — the beginning of all things.

Artists Andrew Whittle and Caitlin Clarke embarked on a project to reimagine lost artefacts from Rillaton Barrow, a late Bronze Age burial mound where the Rillaton Cup was discovered in 1836.

Their creation, OY!, is a ceremonial cauldron holding a thousand beads, each one carrying the memory of Bodmin Moor — inspired by Cornish myth and ancient craft.

Seeds, stories, soil, water, and the breath of the hills are held within these beads, each containing a fragment of the living landscape. In the mythology of the work, OY was sealed within the barrow and entrusted to time, to be opened in a moment of crisis and disconnection. Upon its return, the beads scatter across the moor, releasing the memory of the land — restoring seed, story, and life.

OY is a vessel of potential and renewal.

Through collective creation, the project explores how art, memory, and community can help heal and reimagine our relationship with the natural world.

The project opened with an archaeological tour of Rillaton Barrow and the Hurlers, hosted by Astro-archaeologist Carolyn Kennett.

With Foundation Learning students from Bodmin College, we went for a walk around the Moor and made beads on the barrow. We then hosted beadmaking workshops at the Old Library in Bodmin & at Launceston Library. The public programming ended with a wood firing at the Mora Farm Kiln. Glazes were created from wood ash gathered from windfallen branches near ancient sites; including holy wells and churchyards, alongside rocks and minerals foraged from the landscape. These processes embed the material presence of the moor directly into the work.

The cauldron was crafted by Caitlin, using a primitive coiling technique and fired in a traditional wood kiln.

This installation celebrates the birthing of OY, and the many hands that shaped her.

With thanks to Cornwall National Landscapes,The Heritage Fund, Yan, Camilla and Daisy Swiderski at Hamatethy, John Webb, Minions Tearooms, Helen Bur and Oli Baker, Hamish Petersen and finally, Foundation Learning at Bodmin College and Ali Perrin.