Mads Washbrook (She/They)
Instagram: madswashbrook
Birmingham
Artist Biography
I'm Mads Washbrook, I'm a multi-disciplinary storyteller and artist from Derbyshire. I moved to Birmingham when I was 18 for my BA and then MA at Birmingham School of Art and I have lived here ever since (going on 7 years). I make art about folklore and folk customs as I am interested in history and heritage. I am an avid trinket collector, which inspires my practice visually and in certain projects. I’m currently running a public art project in Digbeth, which is a folkloric trinket trade box where people are invited to take and trade items generally themed around art, craftsmanship or storytelling. It’s currently based in Minerva Works.
About the artwork
Se Ælfscīenes Wylle Nis Nā For Hīom (Water Rituals in the Age of the New Gods) (2026)
Length: 3 minutes and 53 seconds
Se Ælfscīenes Wylle Nis Nā For Hīom (Water Rituals in the Age of the New Gods) (2026) is a short 8mm film about AI. It was filmed in 2023 during a pilgrimage to the Glastonbury Tor, a spiritual site in Welsh mythology and a significant place in Arthurian legend. In Welsh mythology, under the Tor is the portal to the Underworld, the land of the supernatural, which is guarded by Gwyn Ap Nudd. While in Arthurian legend, it is thought to be the Isle of Avalon where Arthur was brought by Merlin to be healed. In the film, the disembodied voice laments on these themes and regards them as long forgotten. Throughout the film, the voice fears for the safety of the natural spring water in the age of the "New God" (AI) and what the New God will use it for (data centres.) The film ends in a ritual spell, which commands the audience to promise to protect the spring against the New God.
The film was developed and restored by Film Rescue in Canada.