Silk is the Soul is a 360 degree video exploring the silk heritage of Macclesfield from a new perspective.
Derelict mills left behind from the peak of the industrial revolution became the backdrop for a series of interventions, performed by young people from the town, and using silk processes as inspiration.
The film becomes a surreal dream, revealing what silk means for these young people who have never experienced the silk town in its full bloom. Through the traces, the stories left behind, the walls falling apart or turned into new ventures, it exposes the fears and the dreams for the future of the town and the future of the world.
The silk road has given way to the world wide web, the hand-to hand trading of the silk has been replaced by the click-to-click on Ebay, Amazon, Alibaba. The connections between countries are still there but taking on a different form.
Created at a time when climate change and overproduction and overconsumption are urgent matters for our global society, the video becomes a metaphor for imagining new possibilities. What if, as the silk worm, we should consider ourselves big enough and stop growing, what metamorphoses would we see as a society? What butterfly would we become? Do we still have the ability to fly and to dream or are we doomed like the silk worms?
CREDITS:
The work was created with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Cheshire East Council and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, with support from Macclesfield’s Silk Museum, Cheshire East Library (Macclesfield),  Cheshire Archives & Local Studies Centre, Barnaby Festival and Treacle Market.
Lead Artist and Creative Heritage Facilitator: Laurence Payot
Film-maker:Â Tim Brunsden
Sound Artist: Jon Hughes
Project Manager: Janey Moran (Cheshire East Council)
Macclesfield Museums Curator: Kathryn Warburton
Project Co-Ordinator: Steph Meskell-Broken
Website Developer: John Wai
Graphic Design: Clement Payot
Photographer: Peter Robinson
Partner youth organisations:
ProjectInc
The Fallibroome Academy
Broken Cross Primary School
Nether Alderley Primary School
Many thanks to:
The Silk is the Soul Ambassadors team Emily, Toby, George, Chloe, Emily, Aiden and Tara for their commitment and creativity.
The Silk Experts Dorothy Bentley Smith, Gillian Twigg, Dan Hearn, Tim Lightfoot and Ron Thorn for offering their time and expertise.