The body of work that Lisa Thomas envisioned several years ago, grew out of her interest in the human propensity for destruction of their own habitat and their drive to colonize those they perceive as lesser. The use of the metaphor of the Little People in her pieces speaks to the viewer's deeper self. She believes that humans are overwhelmed by facts, the bombardment of false and bad news and subconsciously crave a return to the power of mythology; to a time when oral narrative was the guide for ethical living.

The original installation was based on her vision of a civilization of Little People. The process involved creating mixed media sculptures of characters who had come to life in her imagination, born out of the myths, fairytales and stories that she has absorbed over the course of her life. She depicted them as a tribe of original inhabitants, reclaiming their rightful place as the guardians of the earth, after humans flagrantly neglected, abused and ultimately destroyed it.

Tales of non-human creatures are woven into the fabric of cultural narrative around the world. Metaphorically, the Little People serve as a way to see humanity with all its violent and destructive tendencies through the eyes of our most buried and forgotten archetypes. It envisions a civilization where the mythology of Little People and the reality of our human existence on the planet is reversed; when Little People are the stewards of the earth and humans are the stuff of myth and fairy tales.

The simple dwellings of different prehistoric cultures has captivated Lisa since she was a child. She manifested this in the construction of the huts, houses and temples that she conjured for her civilization, using sticks, stones, bones and the remnants of what she saw as human refuse in a post-apocalyptic world.

Within the original installation of the Little People, the spirits of the departed humans were depicted in life-sized drawings on translucent drafting film. Ghostly images of men, women and children were represented as a reminder of their lives lived, enveloped with all the sadness and failures of the human race.

This body of work was originally exhibited at Espace Pierre-Debain in 2019. Brian Sanderson partnered with Lisa and created a sound installation to accompany the work. The intention was always to develop it further. Due to Covid-19 and the limitations it put on artists, the process was delayed. Together, they felt that the work needed to be properly documented but more than that, they hoped that it could become a deeper, immersive experience.

In this new iteration of the work, a small fantastical world was created in an outdoor space. The sculptures and the drawings made originally for the gallery were altered. New characters were born...and all this was installed in a forest, around a little creek.

Two more artists came on board and Rupert Inter-Arts was born.

The eye of Geoffrey Boulangé, our cinematographer, moves through our natural setting, capturing the light and the shadows, flowing from one piece to the next and honouring each character; creating a little time capsule. The viewer is swept along and enveloped in a subtle narrative of sadness and joy.

Emily Rudenberg, our dancer, represents a human spirit who tries to re-manifest. She, in turn, is haunted by and haunts her earthly home, which is now lost to all humanity. Her awareness of this is embodied in her movement, full of regret and remorse.

Brian Sanderson has created a soundscape which explores the acoustic possibilities of the sonic dialogue between the human apparitions and the very much alive Little People. The music connects the characters to musical themes, making use of harmonic relationships that have the qualities of mutation, of earthiness, of being buried and innocent.

It is our hope that our collective has produced an immersive experience that will allow the viewer to connect with this fantastical world and these anthropomorphized spirits of nature. We wish to encourage an understanding of the ways in which humans have lost their way and how this simpler society of beings could better steward the Earth without us and our destructive colonialist behaviours.

The World does not belong to us...