In the Windows

Cary Welling

Images from the series called ‘Now you See Her’

6th - 22nd January 2024

These prints were derived from tiny electrostatic carbon photographs made some time ago. The title alludes to the difficulty of seeing lips, the subject of the images, especially close up.

Cary’s research projects all involve what can be seen, shown or invented by the simple use of unmanipulated photography. The subject matter has frequently been lips, to investigate the invention of ‘personality’ by cropping, angle of view, tone, scale etc. Separately, and occasionally at the same time, she produced images with large ‘dots’ by a variety of image making processes: traditional analogue, photo mechanical, digital and in this case electrostatic carbon. Seeing what these images are of takes some effort on the part of the viewer, hopefully alerting them to their active participation in looking at photographs. Which sounds a little dry, some projects are just for fun - giant digital photographs composed of one pixel per inch where the subject is only visible at a great distance.

Thank you to all of the wonderful people who showed artworks in the gallery in 2023:

Martin Laird; Jade Stout; Becs Boyd; Margaret Quinn; Hugh Hamilton; Louise Martin and Peter Brown had a joint exhibition; Meg Telfer curated a show with Ingrid Budge, Michael Bullen, Don Clarke, Katherine Diaper, Rhona Grahame, Susan Kirkup, Suzie MacKenzie, Fiona Sanderson, Alec Webster and Ian Wilson; Vernon Bradley; Ian Wilson; Giuliana Criscuolo; Magdalena Choluj curated a show with Ingrid Budge, Rebecca Marr, Cat Moore, Robin Palmer and Frances Scot; Alison Clark; Patty Boonstra; Fiona Sanderson curated a show with Calum Macauley, Tim Deakin, Isaac and Len Wilson; Jeanne Bouza Rose; Rebecca Marr curated a show with Ingrid Budge, Alison Moore, Ami Robb, Dawn Stevens and Sarah Wylie; Liza Green curated a show with artworks from 22 Edge Textile Artists Scotland; Samantha Clark; Shona Firth; Mark Summers showed work by Hamnavoe Bookbinders of Stromness; MarionYorston; Jude Nixon; The Fair Saturday team of Fiona Graham, Martin Laird and Sue Knowles; George Logan.

Their posters were in the windows from 11th December until 6th January.

From 11th December there were some more Santas from Catriona Matheson's collection in the windows; this year we have played with the idea of Santas in bottles...

Photographs

Images from the Orchard series, Monorgan, Carse of Gowrie, and a series of Clouds and Narcissi.

George Logan

26th November - 10th December 2023

Scotland has a long tradition of growing and cultivating fruit trees, going back to when the 

monasteries were landowners and producers. When Boswell and Johnson recorded their Journey to the Western Isles (1773) travelling across a large portion of Scotland, they highlighted those landowners who nurtured their own orchards (seen perhaps as a sign of enlightenment and being progressive, especially not long after the 45' rebellion).

This body of work documents the now remnant orchards in the Carse of Gowrie, between Perth and Dundee that was a major producer in the 19th century.

The clouds are from a few largely rain free days on the Isle of Rùm. So easy to take for granted but our awareness of the weather and climate has never been greater and now much more than a daily talking point.

www.scottish-photography.co.uk

The Strawplaiters of Orkney

An exhibition, which was part of the Fair Saturday Scotland Festival in collaboration with Orkney Rape and Sexual Assault Service (ORSAS), a Book launch with author Fiona Grahame and a Straw plait workshop with Sue Knowles

13th - 25th November 2023 

The working lives of women and girls were explored in a Book Week Scotland series of events in Stromness following the publication of a new book ‘The Strawplaiters of Orkney’ by Fiona Grahame and published by Orkney News Ltd. Author Fiona Grahame said:

“Thousands of women and girls were employed plaiting straw and making bonnets for export. Stromness, as a major port, was a hub for this industry but it spread throughout Orkney.”

“What happened to the people who had relied on this industry when it suddenly collapsed? ‘The Strawplaiters of Orkney, follows the lives of the people involved and explores the reasons why it vanished so quickly.”

Contact: Fiona Grahame phone: 07851725012 email fionamgrahame@gmail.com