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Old Pultney Town ProjectWick, Caithness 2004Brodie has just completed a work of public art collaboration (with artist Fin Macrae) commemorating the herring fishing traditions of Caithness, beautifully combining native stone with modern glass. In many ways, the project embodies many of the artist's own goals and ideals:"First, the barrels are made of slate and were quarried from the same material Wick was quarried from, on the same site and some of the recycled slate is from buildings that were also knocked down over time and dumped back into the Southside Quarry. This gives the project a continuity and a sense of belonging to the people and their history. It was a natural collaboration with Fin Macrae, whose photographic art enabled us to try a new technology of photographic etching/engraving, but based on the famous Johnston collection, a local archives of historical photographs. Fin's photographic skills were in tandem with my own interest in glass and design. We hope the work is pleasing, tactile and contains much of the essence of Caithness; past, present and future. The barrels have eyepieces showing three images, barley, herring and water. Barley suggests sustenance and whisky, product of the past and present. The herring emphasise the past, while water points to the future of wave power and energy sources. The whole project depended on local goodwill and collaboration. We had the Harbour Trust, local stonemasons, Wick Heritage and many local people too numerous to mention, including the I.L.M group who executed our design. It was a robust and sympathetic work,one that blends into it's location. This blend and intergration is something that Fin and I felt was very important as a tribute to the rich and enduring heritage of the people of Old Pultney" Brodie Nairn now lives and works in Caithness, the land of the Big Sky and the Aurora Borealis, where nature itself challenges any working artist to better its own natural light creations: rainbows, silver rain, ice and mist. But enough words. It's time to let the art speak for itself .... Written by Tom Bryan 2004 |
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GLASSTORM Contempory Glass Studio & Gallery, 2 Chapel Street, Tain, Ross-Shire, Scotland, IV19 1EL Tel: +44(0)1862 893 189 email: info@glasstorm.com © GLASSTORM 2008 Website creation: Plexus Media | ||