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I was asked to contribute a piece of work by Collective, alongside their Satellites exhibition of winter 2024. The curation of the show is woven with a theme of the Irish proverb, ‘Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine’, roughly translating as ‘people live in each other’s shadows’, meaning,
‘we rely on each other for shelter.’ Both a shade and a shadow, this kind of shelter encompasses the positive and negative aspects of being part of a community, living in the shadow of each other and our ancestors. The works in the exhibition explore the complex nature of inheritance, prompting questions about how we process and understand what has been passed down. This inheritance may be material, cultural, genetic, or spiritual — and often both wanted and unwanted. These legacies shape how we inhabit ourselves and the world in the present day and into the future. I was happy to be asked to engage with the work, and the place of Calton Hill, to produce a performance of song and walking for people to join. Recently I have been exploring how we share tradition and how this relates to our places. I wrote a short book after a residency in April 2024, Forefowk Mind Me, which explores these themes. A number of the ideas that emerged are relevant in the context of Calton Hill. |
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Photos by Sally Jubb