Sea Fallen Stars: A Ritual for Becoming Otherwise

2026 | Ongoing

Sea Fallen Stars is an evolving performance work by Jill Martin Boualaxai and Fiona Oliver-Larkin, first presented at The Big Spell at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop on 23 August 2026.

The project draws on an old Scots belief that jellyfish were melted stars fallen into the sea, alongside ideas of starfish regeneration and the biological immortality associated with some jellyfish. These images become ways of thinking about ageing, transformation and women’s changing bodies.

Eleven sculptural objects form a temporary belief system through gesture, repetition and invented rules. They are carried, deposited, sounded and offered; examined, selected and rejected; transformed through fire and water; absorbed into the jellyfish figure; then returned, covered or carried forward.

Costume, sculptural objects and performance bring fire and water together, both symbolically and physically. The work remains ongoing, with its ritual structure, materials and forms continuing to evolve.

Credits

Developed and performed by Jill Martin Boualaxai and Fiona Oliver-Larkin

First presented at The Big Spell, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, 23 August 2026