TRAVELLING LIGHT An exhibition and art activities inspired by the sailor’s ditty box

19th April to 19th May 2013

David Cass, John Cumming, Will Maclean, Christine Morrison, Frances Pelly, Ian Stephen, Peter White and poet Jon Miller Travelling Light Exhibition and activities For one glorious week in August 2011, I was part of a small and An Talla Solais is thrilled to welcome seven acclaimed artists to Ullapool fortunate party of artists and scientists, travelling aboard the whale- for this unique exhibition. Inspired by Orkney sculptor John Cumming’s watching yacht Song of the Whale. Our voyage had been arranged and recent work around the sailor’s ditty box, we invited others from coordinated by the Cape Farewell Sea Change programme, and during Scotland’s seafaring edges to respond to the same idea. our time at sea we visited some of the more remote islands in the west, and were able to re�lect on the history, culture and ecology of the Minch. The tradition of the ditty box, in which a sailor takes a handful of possessions on his sea voyage, suggests ideas of belonging and identity The journey as metaphor has become a modern cliché; part of the that are contemporary as well as ancient. Here in Ullapool, situated on verbiage of self improvement gurus. The artist returns to it at his Scotland’s northwest coast, we are surrounded not only by seafaring peril, but this voyage was, for me a unique opportunity to re�lect on heritage but also the bustle of a thriving �ishing, freight and ferry port. the extent to which the culture, industry and ecology of our peripheral We are delighted to be exhibiting this special combination of work which communities is under threat by climate change. During my time at sea uses such a resonant theme to re�lect on the past, present and future of I was torn between a sense of awe at the richness of the seascape, the Aour range communities of events and and the art people activities within are them. accompanying wonder of the wildlife, and an ominous dread at the extent to which all the exhibition. See our website www.antallasolais.org for full details. this is at risk. In Scotland’s Northern Isles whole species are in collapse. This, inevitably has grave implications for the communities, cultures and ● Storytelling and poetry industries of the isles. ● What We Carry with John Cumming and Ian Stephen ● Box-making using boatbuilding skills On the deck of a boat the sky is immense, the horizon uncluttered. The , art workshops with Eleanor White individual seems small and the ocean in�inite. By contrast, below decks ● Maritime sketchbook walk with John McIntyre there is no private space, everything is commonly owned and occupied. ● Sail Away, sgoth Jubilee For seamen it has always been thus, hence the need for a small token of around Ullapool’s shore one’s own individuality; one’s history, maintenance and hopes sealed half-day sailing trips on the with within a hand-sized box. The ditty box became an artists’ spaceJohn Cumming in which stories and drawing to explore these themes. All work made and collected during these sessions will be added to an exhibition in Gallery 4 which will grow during the course of the Travelling Light project. Come and see how others have been inspired by the idea of the ditty box. David Cass

From the �lea markets of France & Belgium, to the antique shops and furniture barns near my home (in the Scottish Borders), the gathering of objects is just as important an aspect of my artistic practice as the application of paint onto my predominantly wooden �inds. The satisfaction of unearthing the perfect surface – be it a tiny antique paint bottle, a cigar or matchbox box, or a huge farmhouse tabletop – resonates long after returning each item to my studio.

I illustrate these surfaces in a literal manner, simplifying & abstracting land or seascapes, working in layers. I work mainly with gouache, dry-brushed to give the impression of depth. Dry, brushed, depictions of water. The imagery I choose generally holds personal signi�icance, inspired by my frequent European travels. Time Pulls, Time Pools Purchased at an Antique Fair in Toulouse last summer, my key inclusion in Travelling Light ‘ ’ is an attempt at expressing a painful need to stop time, to capture some moment of calm, in this www.davidcass.co.ukArtist’s life that’s very new to me. www.yearsofdustanddry.com [email protected]

David is currently working towards his �irst full-scale solo exhibition in The Scottish Gallery (June 2013). Entitled ‘Years of Dust & Dry’ the exhibition will feature two years’ worth of found-object based artworks, illustrating his travels since graduating two years ago (including an RSA Scholarship to Florence). John Cumming

Though I knew and admired his work, Cecil Tait (the Shetland cabinet maker) and I had not met, prior to the start of this collaboration. From the outset we communicated regularly, discussing the forms and materials each was exploring. The fact that the boxes were commissioned gave us greater freedom in terms of veneers and �inishes. Over the years, the sculptural forms I employ have become increasingly simple and reductive. It pleased me greatly to see Cecil’s boxes evolve towards that same clean and uncluttered solution. The ditty bag was also made possible through collaboration, this time with my wife Fiona and the rope-work of seaman Fraser Lindsay. The ceramic contents of the box shown here were �ired in a sawdust kiln and refer indirectly to [email protected] current ecological crisis, triggered by oceanic warming in northern waters. Will Maclean

Born 1941.

Member of the Royal Scottish Academy and patron of An Talla Solais. Represented by Art First Contemporary Art London

Collections include - ; Scottish Parliament; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art; Gallery of Modern Art Glasgow; Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge; Yale Centre for British Art USA. North Dakota Museum of Art; Art Gallery of Newfoundland; McMaster MuseumStorm Ontario Finder Canada.

The sculpture is made with found objects, painted wood and bone.Storm Finder The catechism of the Laws of Storms The title is taken from the book ‘ ’, for the guidance of seamen in bad weather.

The main elements in the work are the discs from a sperm whale found on the shore on the Enard peninsula, Coigach. The discs are represented as instruments of navigation.

The carved element represents a canvas pouch containing other objects that refer to navigational aids.

The box suggests that this collection was part of a pilot or navigator’s kit in the days of sail. It is of course a work of complete �iction.

Will Maclean 18 Dougall St www. art�irst.co.uk Fife DD69JD Christine Morrison and Ian Stephen

Christine Morrison

lives and works from Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. Christine makes work by researching a speci�ic location and from a personal / emotional response to place and the natural environment. Her subject is re-presented through the medium of sculpture, drawing, www.christinemorrison.co.ukdigital media, printmaking or as an intervention made directly in the environment. Ian Stephen

was born in Stornoway and still lives there. Ian has been publishing and performing poems and stories since 1979. He worked for the Coastguard Service for many years but has been a full time writer and artist since winning the �irst Robert Louis Stevenson Award in 1995. Navigation is a key element in his work.

In 2011, Ian sailed to St Kilda and the Monach Islands with the Cape FarewellActs Scottish of Trust Islands project. He was also the Reader in Residence with Western Isles Libraries. Ian often works in collaboration with other artists – with Christine Morrison won the “Outstanding www.ianstephen.co.ukMulti Arts Project / Production 2012” category of the British Awards for Storytelling Excellence (BASE). Character of Water 2013

in the Travelling Light exhibition is a collaboration between Ian and Christine, exploring the idea of journeying through stories. Using digital images and Ian’s prose poems based on stories located to speci�ic places, Christine combined two printing processes – photogravure etching of the image and screen- printing the text within the same plate mark. By colour sampling the original digital image, she integrated the colour of the sea, as captured at that particular time, within the text. These works were developed with support of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in partnership with Creative Scotland. Frances Pelly

Designed originally to be a collagraph print, I cut & scribed the card to the proportions of an original Ditty Box & scribed images of objects it would contain & maritime references. No longer having the facility to print here in Orkney I have had to re-think this piece. Resembling the beginnings of a box it now becomes more of an assemblage, the sculptural additions replacing what would have been chine colle & the ‘happy accidents’ created with printing ink are imitated in paint, inks & collage.

Quoyblackie Rendall Orkney [email protected] 2HA 01856 751464 Peter White

Poem by Jon Miller

This box is the case, it seems, that lends a shape to what it tends as if each momentary lapse threatens to collapse some imminent Troy or tesseract. Lock it tight or you might �ind objects of some other mind muttering from their fearsome lips: the key you hold does not exist. www.peter-white.net Front cover image: Time Pulls, Time Pools by David Cass Image on this page / Background images on inside front pages: box cover of Will Maclean’s Storm Finder Background images on previous pages: from Will Maclean’s Transom Echo

An Talla Solais (Ullapool Visual Arts) Market Street Ullapool Ross-shire IV26 2XE

01854 612310 www.antallasolais.org

Travelling Light is supported by Creative Scotland

An Talla Solais (Ullapool Visual Arts) is a charity registered in Scotland, no. SC040348