This topical exhibition of maritime artworks, diaries and personal objects explores the themes of isolation and connection, from the past up to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reflecting on life at sea, on oil platforms, lighthouses and islands, the exhibition considers the parallels between isolation at sea and lockdown, what makes us feel ‘connected’ and how creativity has been so significant through periods of separation.
The exhibition draws on the Scottish Maritime Museum’s national art and maritime heritage collections. Artworks include Kate Downie’s ARI Mural Design No.1 (1988), inspired by her residency on Total Oil Marine’s North Sea Alpha B Oil Platform; The Loss (1990) by Joyce Cairns in which, as with many of her works, the dominant female figure plays the leading role as a luring siren of hope, fear, death, loneliness or loss; Frances Walker’s Leaving Roan (2000), an island deserted since 1938; and Arthur Watson’s twin screenprints, Harbour Lights (1991).
The exhibition events programme features sea shanties and storytelling, creative writing and painting workshops.
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