We are pleased to be collaborating with Fermynwoods Contemporary Art on Earth-Stepper, a new exhibition by David John Scarborough.

Earth-Stepper unfolds as a digital folk fable, following a mythic family and a chorus of animal voices on a pilgrimage shaped by ecology, kinship and burial. Across videoworks, soundtracks and virtual worlds, the exhibition presents a series of digital dioramas informed by personal loss and the possibility of renewal. Beetles rejoice, butterflies grieve and rabbits tell tales, carrying fragments of story and song across screens and spaces.

At the centre of the work is an interactive virtual environment composed of wetlands, gardens and burial mounds. As visitors move through this world, texts and sounds are gradually revealed, invoking the logic of videogame walkthroughs and electronic folk music. The narrative follows a mother and son returning a father’s body to his homeland; barred from entry, they bury him beyond the gates with three seeds in his mouth, from which a forest grows. From this act, the story branches outward — into songs, voices and shared memory.

Rather than treating virtual space as escapism, Earth-Stepper approaches it as a site of lament, care and reconnection: a place to imagine an inclusive, contemporary British folk tradition grounded in land, language and community. Developed through practice-led research and collaboration, the work brings together technology, ecology and storytelling to consider how traditions are carried forward, reshaped and held in common.

Earth-Stepper
David John Scarborough
In-person at Haarlem Artspace
6 February – 1 March 2026

An online presentation of the exhibition will be hosted by Fermynwoods Contemporary Art from 6 March.