jung by the sea | video on-demand | open access
A MULTI-PART WORKSHOP
A journey through myth, art, and collaborative participation, this work brings together a range of moving parts. At its centre is the myth and symbol of Medusa, whose enduring nature—evolving and adopted by diverse groups and cultures over many centuries—provides a catalyst and anchor.
Medusa’s tale is explored, from her watery origins at sea, her metamorphosis from beauty into snake-haired monster, to her beheading as trophy for a ‘hero’s quest’ and beyond. Medusa’s shapeshifting myth is one of duality and transformation, forming a ‘symbolic bridge’ to multiple spheres.
A striking sculptural Medusa, together with 120 seaweed snakes, formed a focal point and ritual figure for this multipart work, brought into being through alchemical processes of gathering, processing, transforming, and creating anew. The natural materials, connected to both land and sea, still evident in the final forms.
Unfolding over three phases, a beach ritual provided the culmination of this work, combining collective imagination, collaboration and place, with natural found materials and symbolic snake offerings, inspired by Medusa eventually returning to the ocean.
Throughout the ‘Centenary Celebration’ event, each part of this work came into focus at different times. This online retelling is structured around interlinking web pages, which draw together storytelling, background material, documentation, and reflection.
A short film captures the 'choreography' of participants, flotsam, sea and snakes in the collective evolution of the Beach Mandala, and a time-lapse sequence of the waves as they reclaim the sea snakes with the turning of the tide.
More than the sum of its parts, this digital incarnation offers inspiration, alongside creative and personal exploration, through Medusa’s ever-twisting tale.
ABOUT SARAH HALL
Sarah Hall is a Psychoanalytic Art Psychotherapist (UKCP, HCPC) and Jungian Analyst (BPC, IAAP) in private-practice in Cornwall. She is also the current Chair of Training for the Association of Jungian Analysts in London, works part-time as clinical lead in dual diagnosis at Chy rehab in Truro, and has taught on the JATQP AJA training for qualified and experienced psychotherapists wishing to train as Jungian analysts, the MA Art Psychotherapy at IATE, and for the Society of Social and Critical Psychoanalysis, in Cornwall.
A professional artist, Sarah has been creating sand drawings and beach art since childhood, more recently customising this ancient spiritual practice to make mandalas which explore narrative visualisations of dreams, contemporary responses to environmental issues, and re-interpreting myths and legends.
FURTHER READING
This multi-part workshop spans the distinct areas outlined and links to far-ranging themes. Reference information and further reading are included on each page of this resource: examining Medusa's Myth, the Making processes, Artwork, and the Mandala Beach Ritual.
In addition, we have provided some accessible and relevant resources here. Of particular interest is Sarah Hall's co-authored paper Elvennel, which explores and echoes themes examined during this session. More details are included below, along with a link to the download.
web page
Across the ‘Centenary Celebration’, the mandala is a recurring Jungian theme, symbol and archetype through the presentations and materials. This imagery is explored from historical, contextual and practice-based perspectives, such as Becca Tarnas in her examination of the artworks of Jung and Tolkien; group mandala building and beach ritual as part of Sarah Hall’s re-examination of the ‘Myth of the Medusa’; the traditional circular movements of the Wreckers Border Morris dance side; and in the beach art mandala workshops by Bill Bartlett using sacred geometry. Jung describes imagery arising from the individual unconscious, appearing through dreams, imagination or visions that is expressed in external form such as art and dance. This externalisation can form a path to self-understanding. As such, the mandala becomes a symbol of the self, representing ‘wholeness’, integrating the inner being. Its creation becomes part of Jung’s process of ‘individuation’. In this way, mandalas are used creatively as tools for self-discovery, meditation and transformation.
link: via www.jungbythesea.co.uk
paper | pdf
This paper, for the 40th Anniversary of The Association of Jungian Analysts (AJA), discusses the creation and symbolism of a transient environmental artwork by the authors. The title 'Elvennel' translates to 'Elemental' in Cornish, capturing the essence of the experience. Cornish culture and mythology influenced the imagery of the work, particularly the stories of the Cornish Chough and the Mermaid of Zenno, which emphasise themes of loss, love, and connection to the land. The narrative of the Raven served as a concluding metaphor, illustrating themes of creation, loss, and healing. It encapsulated the essence of the mandala's journey and the interconnectedness of all beings.
exhibition catalogue
kiki karoglou
Medusa, the monstrous Gorgon of Greek mythology, became increasingly anthropomorphic and feminine beginning in the fifth century B.C. This Bulletin explores the changing ways in which Medusa and other hybrid creatures were imagined and depicted from antiquity to the present day. Drawn primarily from The Met collection, this publication examines a wide range of works dating from the late sixth century B.C. to the twentieth century, from ancient Greek armor, drinking cups, and funerary urns to Neoclassical cameos and contemporary fashion. Also featured is one of the earliest portrayals in Greek art of Medusa as a beautiful young woman. Among the most powerful and resonant in Western culture, the story of Medusa has inspired poets, artists, psychoanalysts, feminist critics, political theorists, and designers. (From the publisher) Karoglou, K. (2018) ‘Dangerous Beauty: Medusa in Classical Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 75, no. No.3, WINTER 2018, pp. 4–47. The accompanying Bulletin is made possible in part by the Jenny Boondas Fund. The Met’s quarterly Bulletin program is supported in part by the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, established by the cofounder of Reader’s Digest.
link: via www.metmuseum.org
web page
Across the ‘Centenary Celebration’, the mandala is a recurring Jungian theme, symbol and archetype through the presentations and materials. This imagery is explored from historical, contextual and practice-based perspectives, such as Becca Tarnas in her examination of the artworks of Jung and Tolkien; group mandala building and beach ritual as part of Sarah Hall’s re-examination of the ‘Myth of the Medusa’; the traditional circular movements of the Wreckers Border Morris dance side; and in the beach art mandala workshops by Bill Bartlett using sacred geometry. Jung describes imagery arising from the individual unconscious, appearing through dreams, imagination or visions that is expressed in external form such as art and dance. This externalisation can form a path to self-understanding. As such, the mandala becomes a symbol of the self, representing ‘wholeness’, integrating the inner being. Its creation becomes part of Jung’s process of ‘individuation’. In this way, mandalas are used creatively as tools for self-discovery, meditation and transformation.
link: via www.jungbythesea.co.uk
paper | pdf
This paper, for the 40th Anniversary of The Association of Jungian Analysts (AJA), discusses the creation and symbolism of a transient environmental artwork by the authors. The title 'Elvennel' translates to 'Elemental' in Cornish, capturing the essence of the experience. Cornish culture and mythology influenced the imagery of the work, particularly the stories of the Cornish Chough and the Mermaid of Zenno, which emphasise themes of loss, love, and connection to the land. The narrative of the Raven served as a concluding metaphor, illustrating themes of creation, loss, and healing. It encapsulated the essence of the mandala's journey and the interconnectedness of all beings.
exhibition catalogue
kiki karoglou
Medusa, the monstrous Gorgon of Greek mythology, became increasingly anthropomorphic and feminine beginning in the fifth century B.C. This Bulletin explores the changing ways in which Medusa and other hybrid creatures were imagined and depicted from antiquity to the present day. Drawn primarily from The Met collection, this publication examines a wide range of works dating from the late sixth century B.C. to the twentieth century, from ancient Greek armor, drinking cups, and funerary urns to Neoclassical cameos and contemporary fashion. Also featured is one of the earliest portrayals in Greek art of Medusa as a beautiful young woman. Among the most powerful and resonant in Western culture, the story of Medusa has inspired poets, artists, psychoanalysts, feminist critics, political theorists, and designers. (From the publisher) Karoglou, K. (2018) ‘Dangerous Beauty: Medusa in Classical Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 75, no. No.3, WINTER 2018, pp. 4–47. The accompanying Bulletin is made possible in part by the Jenny Boondas Fund. The Met’s quarterly Bulletin program is supported in part by the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, established by the cofounder of Reader’s Digest.
link: via www.metmuseum.org
IMAGE REFERENCES
01
header panel: aerial view of beach mandala making
‘Aerial view of beach mandala making, The Cove at Polhawn Fort, Rame Peninsula (2023). Drone Photograph: Patrick Sturrock (2023). Reproduced with permission.
02
sarah hall, centenary celebration event
Dr. Sarah Hall chairing Christian Roesler Seminar (detail), Marquee, Polhawn Fort (2023). Image (video still): Patrick Sturrock (2023). Reproduced with permission. (sharpened with ai tool)
03
medusa head detail, gates, the royal palace of turin
‘Medusa Head detail, Gates, The Royal Palace of Turin, Italy.’ Pelagio Palagi (19th century). Cast iron, decorative metalwork. This artwork is in the public-domain (PD). Photograph: Anassagora (2008), Wikimedia Commons. https://w.wiki/E7Rb Reproduced through the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
04
birth of pegasus
‘Detail from Terracotta lekythos (oil flask) showing Perseus in winged shoes above a beheaded Medusa. Pegasus springs from the body of the dead Gorgon.’ Attributed to the Diosphos Painter (ca. 500 BCE). Terracotta; black-figure, white-ground. Collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rogers Fund, 1906. | This artwork is in the public-domain (PD). Photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Reproduced through Open Access Policy CCO 1.0 License. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247488
05
seaweed sorting and laying
‘The process of gathering, sorting, laying and drying the seaweed’ (2023). Mix of local seaweed species. Photograph: Sarah Hall (2023). Reproduced with permission.
06
willow structure detail
‘Detail of the brown willow structure for Medusa's head as it is formed.’ (2023). Photograph: Sarah Hall (2023). Reproduced with permission.
07
seaweed snakes multiple (detail)
Seaweed Snakes Multiple (detail) Marquee, Polhawn Fort (2023). Photograph: Denise Reeves (2023). Reproduced with permission.
08
medusa installation, jung by the sea marquee
Medusa artwork installation, ‘Jung by the Sea’ Marquee, Polhawn Fort (2023). Photograph: Denise Reeves (2023). Reproduced with permission.
09
building the medusa mandala
Participants collaborating in the making of the Beach Mandala, by the waves, Polhawn Cove (2023). Still from film footage of ritual: Patrick Sturrock (2023). Reproduced with permission.
10
beach ritual with ‘shadow selves’ (aerial clip)
Beach ritual (detail), showing participants playing with shadows around the emerging mandala form. Polhawn Cove (2023). Drone footage (clip): Patrick Sturrock (2023). Reproduced with permission.
11
seaweed snakes lifted by the waves
‘Seaweed snakes at the edge of the waves (detail),’ Polhawn Cove (2023). Video clip (drone): Patrick Sturrock (2023). Reproduced with permission.
12
medusa mandala by the sea video on-demand
‘Medusa Beach Mandala Ritual’ Short Film shown on Jung by the Sea On-Demand Channel Player. Video by Patrick Sturrock (2023), Still reproduced with permission. With thanks to the workshop participants. The image shows a visualisation of the screen. Device image by Mockuuups Studio (2025).
13
mandala at the edge of the waves (detail)
‘Detail of Beach Mandala, made from land and sea, at the edge of the waves,’ Polhawn Fort (2023). Photograph (still): Patrick Sturrock (2023). Reproduced with permission.