Origins…

I was going to post on the cyanotypes I’ve been working on today but due to a major problem with our server (it died!) there won’t be any images to show for now!  So, in the meantime I thought I’d post some more photos from the trip to Scotland (off my iPhone).  In some ways they deal with some of where my work travels too….

On our last day in Scotland we finally made it back to Edinburgh which we took a detour through on our way to the airport.  We had done this especially to see the National Museum of Scotland which we had missed while there at the start of our trip and had continuously been told to go see by many locals on our way around Scotland.  So, we did!  And it was well worth the trip.

Firstly, the display’s were amazingly well done (see above!). The museum is undergoing refurbishment at the moment but the historical section has been completed and if the rest of the museum alterations (which are due to be finished by mid-year) are anything like what we saw, it will be an amazing and very informative space to visit.

We came across what we thought were some Trilobites?

And a replica of a plesiosaurus (a possible relative of the loch ness monster?).

Then I stumbled across ‘Lizzie’ (above) in the pre-history section of the display.  She/he has caused a lot of debate in scientific circles as some believe that she is an example of the oldest reptile (the source of land walking animals like us!) and others that she is an amphibian – it is impossible to tell.  Either way she is a unique link back to the evolution of animal life on this planet – say hello to one of your ancestors!

I’ve been thinking about place and dislocation which is what ‘Coastliners’ essentially is a tale of – and Scotland helped to crystallise some of this for me.  My father asked me when I got back whether I felt any connection to the place my family on his side originate from….  and to be honest, it was a yes.  I’ve always loved the sea, not necessarily to swim in but to clamber about and explore.  The coastline all around the islands is my favourite kind – steep, rocky, windswept with a little sand and a lot of rock.  Clear views across the landscape too.

Islands, the sea, marine life, local custom and attitude (very much like that from the family), oral history, deep connection to place and the management of it, boating, fishing….  the list goes on – all a jumble with meaning making in it…..  my UV unit arrives from the USA today (much excitement!!) which means I will be able to continue Coastliners soon (for an exhibition in Montreal later this year) and I will be interested to see how all of this fits in.  But in the meantime, here are some Mitten Crabs – interlopers from Asia to the UK – I can sympathise with them

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