Pictured: Julia Webb-Harvey at the opening of the exhibition at Poly, Falmouth credit: @thewildflowerhour
Truthfal visited The Poly in Falmouth, to meet Julia Webb-Harvey. Julia is the co-creator of 26 Tyller Yn Kernow (26 Places in Cornwall), alongside Tom Scott. The project is currently exhibiting from the 28th of February to the 4th of March.
26 Places in Cornwall is an A-Z tour of Cornish locations through poetry and photography. It is part of the 26 Characters Collective which is a non-profit organisation for writers. The name represents the 26 letters of the English alphabet; the DNA of language.
‘It’s been a glorious way to put layers of history and heritage together from the soil.’
Artwork featured at 26 Places in Cornwall/ Tyller Yn Kernow exhibition at The Poly, Falmouth.
26 writers were invited to visit 26 places around Cornwall, a mix of well-known areas, and places off the beaten track. They were asked to explore the hidden history embedded in Cornwall’s landscape. Photographers were then invited to use the writers’ words to explore these places and inspire their own work. The result is a distinct celebration of Cornwall.
Julia spoke to Truthfal about the concept behind the project: “One of my first loves is geography, so I have always been intrigued by place, place names, and their origins. Some names in the project such as Otteham are quite anglicised, yet places such as Tywardreath have more of the Cornish sound and feel, that was the birth of the project.”
The project which has been compiled into a book, goes beyond the tourist postcard narrative which is synonymous with the county, to reposition the national perception of Cornwall.
“(We) tried not to include too many well-known places” Julia said, “It was really important to us that our writers didn’t do it as a desk-based project – that they got out there into the places and captured the different layers of history.”
You can find out more about the project at: https://www.26.org.uk/projects/26-places-in-cornwall-26-tyleryow-yn-kernow