UNDER THE MOUNTAIN

ABOUT

Ekphrasis: To call an inanimate object by its name, a verbal representation of a piece of visual art

If wishes were horses seeks to make the intangible tangible through interdisciplinary dialogue, to see what might happen when the mind of one person creates something new in the mind of another. We are looking for creative written responses to the featured artwork that push boundaries, that are experimental in form, that try to speak to something that might be difficult to express. 

What do you see and feel when you look at art? Do you wonder what the artist was trying to express? What might you say in response? What is sparked when you let your imagination loose, what might it be like to talk to each other through our art? Might new ways of seeing and thinking emerge?

CURRENT ARTIST: Orlando Seale

Orlando Seale is a British artist working across painting, drawing and performance. His painting approaches themes of transformation, mortality, the unconscious and mystery, with an unabashed playfulness and vitality informed by his many years working with performance, clown and improvisation. 

Movement and the body, deep listening and time spent in nature are core to the practise. Guided by intuition and unknowing, he dialogues with materials, exploring and embodying images that arise from the unconscious, from dreams and myth. He seeks to balance this inner work with observation, and in this way bridge the inner and outer landscapes.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Creative experimental responses to the featured artwork. This can be poetry, short fiction or non fiction. Word count limit of 4000 words. No reviews please, we are looking for a creative conversation, not a value judgement. 

The exhibiting artist will collaborate with the editor to choose their favourite interpretations to join their work in the gallery for each season. IWWH aim to publish in print form annually. We aim to pay all winning contributors that make it into our annual print journal.

IWWH particularly wants to hear from those traditionally underrepresented in the arts. From personal experience we know of some of the barriers holding people back from joining the conversation. We want to help push those barriers aside, so that our dialogue can be as representative and inclusive as possible.

Take your time with the artwork, sit with it, let your mind wander, follow it. Write down what comes, sit with it some more. Who knows where your mind will take you?

Please do not submit anything written with AI tools. Your submission is easiest to view in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), and should contain your real name, the title of the story, and your email address in the header, double-spaced, in 12-pt simple font, on A4 or US Letter paper size. Please only attach one story at a time.