Jaxx Waygood and Fiona Oliver-Larkin represent a powerful fusion of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary performance art. Waygood, a Granton-based Artist Blacksmith with over a decade of experience, creates work ranging from architectural ironwork to expressive sculptural pieces that demonstrate true craftsmanship informed by an artist’s sensibility. Oliver-Larkin complements this material mastery as an Edinburgh-based physical theatre maker, puppeteer, and circus performer, driven by a vision for a more fair, equal and joyful post-patriarchal world.
For Hidden Door’s 2025 Festival, Waygood and Oliver-Larkin present The Devil’s in the Details.
This collaborative project was conceived when the artists met at Hidden Door 2021 at Granton Gasworks. Here they present an installation that doubles as a performance set, comprising a moveable forge, water bosh, anvil, blacksmith’s tools, and an evolving body of work created throughout the exhibition.
Within this dynamic setting, the artists perform a 20-minute ritual that incorporates live blacksmithing, with hot, glowing metal transformed into puppets amid steam, water, and sound. Their performance reimagines one of humanity’s oldest recorded tales for contemporary times, embodying their shared belief that finding new ways to live requires both telling new stories and reimagining ancient ones.
The installation features an octagonal barrier designed to support dramatic lighting that creates moving shadows. During performances, the portable installation will be temporarily relocated outdoors to safely accommodate the lit forge. This collaboration blurs the relationship between craftsperson and material, creating a ritualistic space where tradition and innovation coexist, and where industrial processes reveal their inherent connection to nature.
You can see the performance outside the Factory Floor on Wednesday June 11th 2140-2200h.
For Hidden Door’s 2022 Festival at the Old Royal High School, Oliver-Larkin performed TH4T’S CL4SS!! as part of SALTYDOLLS.
For Hidden Door’s 2021 Festival at the Granton Gasworks, Oliver-Larkin performed in Jill M Boualaxai’s RAVE CAVE.
For Hidden Door’s 2021 online Live Shows, Oliver-Larkin performed !t’s Th!s (Utop!a) as part of SALTYDOLLS.
For Hidden Door’s 2018 Festival at the State Cinema, Oliver-Larkin performed SALT.
Find out more about Jaxx at jaxxwaygood.co.uk or instagram.com/jaxx_waygood
and about Fiona at fionaoliverlarkin.com or instagram.com/fionaoliverlarkin
