Consumed is a live performance exploring medieval reading practices and embodied contemplation. Reading aloud from the visionary text Revelations of Divine Love, I combined actions from manuscript making with devotional gestures. Copying words onto paper and dusting the letters with gold leaf powder before smoothing them with a bone folder, I smelled, licked, chewed, and ate the text for spiritual nourishment.

This performance, part of the Anchorhold project, was inspired by Julian of Norwich (1343 - after 1416), a mystic and theologian who wrote the earliest surviving English language text by a woman.

Image Credits: Laura Litten. The Sloan Manuscript MS 3705 (Revelations of Divine Love) is held in the British Library.