Artists at The Edge

The Aig An Oir art programme is highlighting the environmental and cultural importance of Scotland’s Atlantic Oakwoods. With two artists residencies successfully completed in Skye and Sunart, JOHN SAICH joins the third in Mid Argyll and meets the artists of the SWLA.

Artists at Taynish with local experts © Trenouth, WBM

Most people who visit Taynish and Knapdale for the first time understandably think they are a lot further into the Highlands than they actually are. Travelling from the South, it’s easy to lose a sense of direction as the road takes you on a switch back ride up Loch Lomond and around Loch Fyne, with the rugged mass of the Isle of Jura greeting you on arrival as guardian to the Atlantic Ocean beyond.  Roughly on the same latitude as Glasgow and Edinburgh, this particular stretch of Argyll coastline has some of the cleanest air in the UK, and the Taynish Oakwoods, with their indigenous lichens, mosses and multitude of bird species, have thrived in it for six thousand years. No better place, then, for the third in a series of wildlife artists residencies designed to explore the intricacies of our natural woodlands.

The Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) is a membership of acclaimed specialists in the field, so to speak, all of whom take a unique and personal approach to the natural world.  Aig An Oir, like its subject matter, is a partnership project that appears to be growing roots and branches beyond expectation. A carefully chosen consortium of active partners, including Scottish Natural Heritage and HI~Arts, helped set a steady course, whilst Forestry Commission Scotland, the lead body in Aig An Oir, has ensured a lasting legacy through the local knowledge and commitment of rangers and staff. They know that increased public access, careful management and greater awareness of the Oakwoods is key to their survival, and the work produced by the artists over the ten day residency reflects that understanding and sensitivity. It would be easy to miss the point of this environment with a perfunctory view, breath taking though it may be. With Aig An Oir we are seeing a sure handed continuation of a creative and intelligent interpretation of ancient heritage.

In Taynish and Knapdale, historical context has been crucial in this interpretation, with Kilmartin Glen, Dunadd and the Moine Mhor (Great Moss) all within a few miles radius. The significance of these and other local archaeological sites still seems strangely undervalued, even within our own country, and local project leaders were intent on  giving the artists a quick but “in the field” background to Mid Argyll’s early history before a single sketch was begun. This was a decision unanimously applauded despite the challenges of weather and occasionally demanding terrain, and a resultant sense of reverence and fascination comes across clearly both in the artists work and in their common desire to return to Argyll at the earliest opportunity.

Louise Oppenheimer © Isabel Cameron, Forestry Commission

All of this is not always significant to people who live in the area on a day to day basis of course, a fact not lost on the two local artists who joined the eight members of the SWLA throughout the residency. Jane Smith and Louise Oppenheimer reflected that the project enabled them to explore the environment to a depth their daily lives didn’t allow, and such close contact with members of the SWLA has given them fresh inspiration in their own work. Jane is continuing that enthusiasm through workshops for schools as part of the Aig An Oir Local Project, whilst all the work produced by the artists will be exhibited at the Royal Botanics in Edinburgh next year.

At the close of the residency, and with Kilmartin House Museum as an inspired choice of venue, a work in progress viewing provided the link between Aig An Oir and the local community. Members of the public, some practicing artists themselves, met the SWLA, and local and national project staff. In a continuation of the roots and branches analogy, the evening not only gave the community a rare opportunity to see work in development by some highly innovative artists, but also showed Kilmartin House to be a first class exhibition venue, a facility that sits very comfortably alongside its heritage remit.

I was privileged to meet the artists myself that evening, and was delighted to hear them all speak warmly of the genuine hospitality, the care and commitment of the project team, and of a shared experience they would never forget. As the work of the SWLA brings the significance of the Atlantic Oakwoods to the national eye, I have no doubt those heartfelt sentiments will be clearly evident in every shape and colour.

© John Saich, 2004

The Taynish and Knapdale residency artists were:
Carry Akroyd (www.carryakroyd.co.uk), Louise Oppenheimer, Jane Smith, Chris Rose,
Nik Pollard, Katrina Cook, James Williamson Bell and John Davis.

Aig An Oir is a partnership of Forestry Commission Scotland, The Society of Wildlife Artists and HI~Arts. It is funded and supported by the European Community WHELK and North Highland Leader + programmes, Lochaber Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Natural Heritage.