Tweaking Loss

My Betrayal and Loss Exhibition (2023) art work Loss was purchased by Strathnaver Museum; and has been moved and is currently on show in the upstairs display area at Clachan Cafe and information centre adjacent to the museum.

Loss was a bit complicated to move given that it has 103 metal boats attached to a mesh wave; stones representing 5 fishing coves; and a sea of fabric. It was moved by museum staff. They had done a grand job; but I agreed that Fiona and I would tweak it a bit whilst over this trip - opening photo of me at work.

The main issues were that in reattaching some of the boats two layers of a couple of the waves were attached to each other (see photo above) and didn't allow the open rolling sense of the waves; some big stones were dominating the front of the piece; and in places the groups of boats were a bit dense. Using curved jewellery pliers Fiona I removed a number of boats; separated the wire; reattached boats; moved stones; and reformed a couple of waves. Following photos taken by Fiona reflect part of the tweaking process.

And as you can see from the photos below the artwork is generally more open; and continues to tell the story of the betrayal of people cleared from Strathnaver and forced to be come fishers - many lost their lives - see Letter XI in Donald MacLeod's Gloomy Memories.