SGEULACHDAN NAN CLACHAN) (Brahan Estate, 26 May 2007

Big Willow Project (photo - Kenny Matheson).

THE CULMINATION of an exciting and ambitious project of international collaboration, the Big Willow event demonstrated what can be achieved when a large scale temporary work of public art is created in a unique Highland setting.

With music by Blazin’ Fiddles and performance by Edinburgh based performance arts charity te Pooka, the evening was a celebratory deconstruction of the original Big Willow sculptures created in May 2006 by North Carolina artist Patrick Dougherty and the Scottish Basketmakers Circle. The sculptures were set alight at the end of a year on site at the Brahan Estate, near Dingwall.

Figures from myth and legend, including witches and creatures on stilts, mingled with the crowd beforehand. Directed by a sign to “nowhere”, the procession of audience and performers snaked its way down to the site.

The Brahan Estate is a beautiful setting on a summer’s evening, and the tree-lined path was decorated by banners with magical symbols, painted Celtic designs and runes hanging from trees.

The title of Dougherty’s sculpture, “Close Ties”, provided a thematic structure to the event linking arts and heritage, past and present, and history with myth and legend. Constructed from willow grown on the estate and in the presence of surrounding hills and water, the sculpture also encouraged contemplation of our relationship to the natural environment.

The event attracted a large enthusiastic crowd of all ages and the mix of circus performance, music and fire was especially enjoyed by children in the audience. Four performance spaces, including the loch side site of the Big Willow sculptures, were utilised, with a main stage, a circus ring of fire, and acrobats in the trees above a smaller performance space.

Local features such as a resident white swan and an ancient standing stone before the loch were also incorporated in the performance.

Blazin’ Fiddles provided the soundtrack with a mixture of jigs, reels and slow airs that combined with the changing light and theatrical performances to create a magical evening.

Fiddle solos from Ian MacFarlane and Bruce Macgregor were particularly moving, and traditional dance music was performed with all the energy, excitement and vibrancy that we have come to expect from the band.

Expectation was created by the gradual movement between performance sites and anticipation of the final burning of the sculptures.

Performance group te Pooka entertained the crowd with crystal ball juggling and antics, including strip the willow with blazing torches and hula hoops of fire. (I could have done with one of those to keep the midges at bay!)

A white figure standing above the standing stone and shrouded in smoke beckoned the crowd towards the loch for the final section of the performance. A voice-over spoke of the Brahan Seer’s prophesies, and also for the land and its trees, sky and water.

Mini-boats on fire drifted over the water as a torch-lit procession of performers then made their way around the shore to the sculptures to frolic amongst them before setting them alight for the finale.

For me, the star performers were the sculptures themselves, combined with the spectacular element of fire, flames and embers reaching high into the sky with fierce intensity and then reducing to a glow of willow strands in a blackening glow, like metal.

The echoes of ancient rituals in procession and fire were realised in a magnificent natural setting.

As the culmination of a diverse range of activity including workshops with local school children, artist’s residencies, photographic documentation and the creation of a major work of temporary public art, Big Willow gives us a vision of what can happen when art, heritage and nature come together in one project.

Greater awareness about the significant work being done by the Scottish Basketmakers Circle in engaging the audience with traditional craft but expanding our perceptions of what it can be is another positive outcome of this project.

Working innovatively and with vision on a scale not seen before, the end of the project is also an exciting platform for promotion of contemporary craft practice in the region. Perhaps that glimpse of possibility and greater expectation from Highland audiences will be the most positive legacy of the Highland Year of Culture.

© Georgina Coburn, 2007

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