2-29th Nov 2023, Main Hall, The Briggait.

This work aims to explore my ongoing interest in steel, limestone and flax with newer ideas of ancestral muscle memory. Earlier this Summer as part of a nine man crew, I crossed the Inner Hebrides in a Sigma 42 sail boat. I did this in order to feel closer to my master mariner ancestors who owned a famous ‘smack’ (boat) “The Lady Margaret” on the island of Lismore.

I learned sailing ‘tow rope’ traditionally got its name from tow flax (rough fibres produced during the scutching stage of flax processing) and sails too were originally produced from linen.

Throughout this piece I found myself focused more on carrying out physical motions and tasks. Doing these enabled me to feel connected with people from my past. Whilst on this residency I worked with my crew to haul various ropes which controlled the sails for our speed and direction of travel. My physical motions were constantly changing as we responded to the wind and sea. In this installation I hoped to capture the vastness / changeability of space and time through the use of raw materials, audio and air.