This month we’re heading to Collective Gallery for the summer exhibition by Scottish artist Katie Paterson, joined by curator Claire Craig. Commissioned for Folkestone Triennial 2025, and curated by Collective’s Director Sorcha Carey, this important new work will be shown in Scotland for the first time.
Afterlife brings together nearly 200 amulets in a sculptural installation designed in collaboration with Berlin-based architects, Zeller and Moye. Amulets are miniature talismanic objects, typically carved in stone. Appearing across millennia and cultures, they are small enough to be held in the hand or worn, and are generally considered protective.
Afterlife reimagines this tradition. Working with museums around the world, Paterson has recreated amulets from civilisations across the globe (including Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Viking, Islamic, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Celtic, Greco-Roman and Pre-Columbian), using materials sourced from endangered landscapes and fragile ecosystems, to serve as a bridge between past and present.
