Pier arts centre, Stromness, Orkney
04/11/2010 - 30/11/2010
Part of ‘Is a thing lost if you know where it is’ Islands project, exploring stories of the sea in the Hebrides
A collaboration with sailor storyteller Ian Stephen
Pier arts centre, Stromness, Orkney – September to end of November 2010
with Ian Stephen, Emmanuelle Waeckerlé, Colin Myers
AN LANNTAIR Arts Centre – Isle of Lewis – Outer Hebrides March to May 2011
with David Connearn, Morven Gregor, Pat Law, Gerry Loose, Andy Mackinnon, Sean Marin, John McNaught, Louise Milne, Colin Myers, Maggie Nicols, Mikko Paakkola, Innes Smith, Ian Stephen, Peter Urpeth, Emmanuelle Waeckerlé, Sean Ziehm-Stephen
Jubilee leaving Port Nis
RESTRICTED print
two planks, RESTRICTED print
RESTRICTED storm sail
RESTRICTED storm sail
RESTRICTED storm sail (close up)
A core element of the project examines a proposition I made to compare the roles of the storyteller and the artist to the characters in the legend of Echo and Narcissus.
Jubilee (1935 sgoth Niseach) was sailed to Orkney, from Port of Ness on the 2nd september 2010, a 26 hour long crossing with a crew of 4, Ian Stephen, Colin Myers, Dihanne Cross and Young David. Two stories were exchanged at the beginning of the voyage, Limfjord and Falling man, timeless stories, tales of survival, exploring human psychology.
A storyteller is, like Echo, restricted in that he can only repeat what he has heard but not initiate. And the artist, like Narcissus is also restricted because he is bound to filter all perceptions through his own consciousness. (E Waeckerlé)
The making of the boat, the stories told, the crossings of water and elements of this adventure have been retold in a range of different mediums; sculptural work, video works, a drawing, a photographic diptych, a screenprint and a customised storm sail showing an image based on the international signal for “I am restricted in my ability to manoeuvre”.