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The Devil at the Belfire Fair Devil's Dyke, Brighton 2025

By Danny Manning 2025

Woven Mask of the Devil, part of a series of ‘Mummer Masks’ completed in 2025 for the Brighton Fringe Festival. Working from a themed handbook I investigated the folklore of the Devil's Dyke and in particular the story of St.Cuthman and the Devil and created two large scale woven head masks from locally sourced materials working with traditional basketry techniques.

Smart London had acquired the site, a derelict old pig farm on the Devil's Dyke earlier in the year and proposed an  Art Trail in May 2025 to open the site as a new Arts Centre. The masks appeared at the Belfire Fair alongside 7 other artist's work  installed in a variety of abandoned sheds. This event won Best Brighton Fringe Exhibition Award 2025.

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