Amersfoort Witches Memorial
In 1590 - 1595, Amersfoort in the grip of a series of rough winters a collapsed economy and a plague of wolves that circled the town, turned to their darkest impulses and searched for scapegoats. The victims were accused of dancing and having sex with the Devil, shape-shifting into wolves and cats and uttering curses.
The victims nine women and two men of the 17 accused- ranging in age from 15 to 80 were tortured until they "confessed" and then strangled to unconsciousness and burnt at the stake on the Neude and Paardenveld locations in Utrecht.
There is no memorial to these people, also no memorial to the witch burnings that came in the years before both in Amersfoort and Utrecht.
My work is an attempt to bring these forgotten victims into the light and remember them.
The work will be a hand embroidered textile installation of a 16th century style shift made from vintage fabric, embroidered with the eyes of the victims framed in blood red flames of embroidered silk and pearls, referencing innocence the pearls also have a two-fold symbolism of white blood cells against the red bloody flames, and tears.
At the base is embroidered a wolf dressed in an appliqued jacket howling the blood red flames that rise up to the eyes of victims.
The back of the piece will have a flying white swan to symbolise the escape of Swaentghen Seghers, daughter of the famous witch Grietje Seghers otherwise known as the Roode Kater - the Red Tom Cat, as she was believed to have shape-shifted into this form to attend Sabbats. Swaentghen ran away, was captured, and then released on lack of evidence. no more is known of her history.
contemporary woodcut showing witches transforming into cats
I had a strange dream after visiting the Witches bridge in Amersfoort where they were forced to undergo the water torture. I dreamed of a young girl and jumped into the water with her.
contemporary woodcut showing witches transforming into cats
Background notes from my Sketchbook.