Matthew Cowan : Folklore as Wonder or, Speculative Methods and Artistic Transformations of Folk Customs across Gallery and Museum Practice

Folklore as Wonder considers the material and conceptual shifts that occur when particular European folk customs are recontextualised within a contemporary art framework. Developed as artistic research across four exhibition projects, the enquiry formulates the concept of folklore-as-artwork through speculative practice, defamiliarisation, the carnivalesque, and ritualised humour. Examining insti¬tutional translocation, it generates bi-textual encounters that interrupt museum taxonomies and activate strange wonder. In tracing how folklore operates across artistic and historical contexts, the research offers a critical model for artistically re-engaging with folk traditions.