Deep Seed: A digital folklore

Taking inspiration from Japanese folk tales, ‘Creepy Pasta’ and SCPs—online communities of writers and enthusiasts who use video, images, GIFs, hyperlinks, and text to invent new creatures and stories—this project explores the internet as a living landscape for contemporary folklore. With AI as a creative companion, Ruth invited a group of creative allies to test the possibilities of the okiotype: folklore rooted in place, re-imagined for the digital realm.

Through hands-on crafts and divination games, participants conjured story ingredients, which an artificial assistant then shaped into a brand-new digital folklore narrative.

Following the workshops, Ruth then created unique ceramic works inspired by the characters from the story and the all-important moral of the tale – honesty is the best policy!

Visit the Oriental Museum to view these contemporary ceramics alongside some of the objects from the Oriental Museum collection which inspired the final work.

 

Place Lab is part of Into the Light, a county-wide programme dedicated to empowering communities and creative change in County Durham.