BorderLands artist in residence Maya Rose Edwards has been working with professional hedgelayer Trefor Prothero of Trefor Prothero Hedgelaying and Fencing to create a hedge that will be exhibited as part of Meadow Arts’ BorderLands exhibition at Hay Castle (15 May – 31 August 2026).

Maya’s practice brings together research, collaboration and site responsive approaches to explore how landscapes carry histories, identities and shared cultural knowledge. Trefor, based near Brecon in Powys, is an experienced hedgelayer whose work draws on traditional rural skills. Together they have combined contemporary art practice and rural craft knowledge to create a living sculptural work.

The project has grown from Maya’s research as artist in residence for the BorderLands programme, a three year place based partnership inspired by Offa’s Dyke and the landscapes of the Welsh border region.

As part of this research, Maya led a series of contemporary Beating the Bounds walks in the border towns of Presteigne and Kington. Participants walked together carrying hazel sticks that were later used in the making of the hedge.

Beating the Bounds is an ancient custom dating back to at least the 1500s. Communities would walk the boundaries of their parish while marking them with sticks, preserving a shared mental map of place before drawn maps were widely used. Practiced across towns and villages in England and Wales for centuries, the tradition reflects a deep relationship between communities, land and memory.

In this contemporary reimagining, the walks followed the designated routes of the BorderLands maps rather than parish lines or the national border. Participants marked everyday landmarks that form part of the lived landscape of these towns. By focusing on these small but meaningful places, the walks traced a collective sense of belonging that exists beyond political borders.

The hazel stakes from these ceremonies were later incorporated into the hedge created by Maya and Trefor. Each stake represents a participant and the places encountered along the route, transforming what might appear to be a barrier into a record of shared movement and connection across the Borderlands.

Photos by Finn Beales

Hedgerows have a long and complex history in Britain. Many were introduced as a way of enclosing common land during the Enclosure Acts, although some are far older. Today hedgerows are legally protected and play a vital ecological role, forming networks that support biodiversity and provide shelter for plants and animals across the landscape.

The winter hedgerow carries layered meanings. It reflects the severity of borders and the historic manipulation of natural systems of growth and migration to enclose land that was once shared. At the same time, hedgerows become places where environments meet and intersect.

In the hedge created by Maya and Trefor, the hazel stakes from the Beating the Bounds walks form part of the structure. Together they represent an interconnected web of people and places across the Borderlands, where what once marked division instead reveals connections within landscape, memory and community.

BorderLands in 2025-26 is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).