After premiering at the Maeshowe visitor centre in Orkney, the Earthbound Orkney exhibition can now be viewed at the Custom Lane Gallery, Leith, until March 26.
The exhibition, by Tom Morton and MA Contemporary Art and Archaeology student Becky Little, explores the clay earths deposited in Orkney during the last Ice Age and which were used in traditional craft and construction. From the large deposits of gold and red clay to the smaller amounts of exotic blues, greens, whites and blacks found in special locations. Some are stony, sandy or silty, while others are oily and organic, influenced by peat that built up on top.
Thirteen different locations on three islands are represented here by their earths, in raw form rammed into cubes, and as polished spheres. Sourcing and making these contemporary artefacts is part of a rich dialogue with Place and Past though Orkney’s earths and its heritage community. It explores a human connection through making that is 5,500 years old, embedded in muscles, memories and landscape. But it also signals a re-connection with natural and local materials that is part of our response to the Climate and Nature Emergency.
Earthbound Orkney was previously exhibited at the Maeshowe visitor centre, Stenness, and in the V&A Dundee, as part of A Fragile Correspondence. You can watch a video of Becky talking about her work here: https://youtu.be/Nc4qP8YfWQo
Also, on March 10, there is an event which sees Becky and Tom in conversation with Julian Stair at the gallery: https://customlane.co/event/talks-at-the-lane-with-becky-little-tom-morton-and-julian-stair/
