Happy is the Eye

Ryan Powell is an artist who works with sound and images. ‘Happy is the Eye’, his evocative film, explores the historical interactions between people and nature in the Forest of Dean. He draws on oral history to populate his film of the landscape and subterranean Forest. He uses voices from the 1970s recordings made by Elsie O’livey and our own collection of recordings including, Thomas Preece, George Hogg, John Thomas, Ivy Gunter and Bart Venner. The visual representation portrays the night drawing in, the Forest falling asleep and dreaming of past inhabitants. It is a highly evocative work that tells a powerful story of people’s struggle to make a living from mining, forestry, commoning, domestic service and the changing Forest. The film has been produced by Nicola Wynn at Dean Heritage Centre and funded by Foresters Forest.

Happy is the Eye from Ryan Powell on Vimeo.