Riddle 57: printmaking, poetry & animation

June – August 2020: during lockdown, Double Elephant Print Workshop in Exeter brought together poets, historians, animators and printmakers to turn a 1,000-year-old riddle from The Exeter Book into an animated encounter that can be ‘played’ by the reader.

Riddle 57 is one of nearly 100 riddles from The Exeter Book, a 10th-century anthology of poetry in Exeter Cathedral’s library, recognised by UNESCO as one of the world’s principal cultural artefacts. The riddles are playful little windows into the past. They’re dynamic – demanding to be played, replayed and interpreted.

Double Elephant has collaborated (entirely online) with filmmaker Luke Hagan, medievalists Professor Chris Jones (University of St Andrews), Dr Megan Cavell (University of Birmingham) and poet Jacob Polley, Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University, to create an interactive riddle that explores the language and imagery of the riddle.

To help elicit images from the public, Jacob wrote 'Picture Me...' prompts in response to Riddle 57, receiving more than 180 prints/drawings/paintings from across the world. You can ‘play’ Riddle 57 now on Double Elephant's website.