‘To C-–, sweeter than honey or honeycomb, B-‘
Honeycomb is the title of the second piece of writing Natalie is working on as part of Out and About Queering the Museum at RAMM. Inspired by two beautiful love letters written by Lesbian Medieval Nuns, translated from the original Latin. The letters are very romantic, full of sapphic longing and incredibly moving, sharing a new perspective on queer love between women from the Middle Ages. Reading them has also made us think about how we might approach Medieval collections in museums. Whilst actively capturing something through words that could be read out loud and shared with the wider public to ignite another perspective or series of queer narratives about the past.
‘I look about and do not find my lover’
‘my spirit languishes perpetually by your absence’
There is something about letters as a catalyst for understanding something new about LGBTQ+ people’s lives and their stories. Acting often as a documentation of queer lives where other records do not exist. Presenting romantic, platonic and sexual love between individuals. If we think of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West’s letters for example, and how they not only express desire, intellectual and artistic freedom, but also a lasting friendship between them. It is a very intimate lens. A lens which will act as guide for the form of the writing that Natalie will explore and create a performance later on in the project.