by jennie speirs grant
Paper, kelp derived charcoal, reclaimed perspex, net, western isles maerl, shells, carbonised lemon.
h: 30 w: 32 d: 35 (cms).
A coded artwork in black and white referencing masthead signals ie dayshapes signifying, through the use of silhouettes, the status of a vessel at sea, such as a sailing or fishing boat. Visual signals which may be picked up from within the artwork inlcude indications of rapid environmental and technological changes affecting the Western Isles, such as the forms of cube satellites, possible environmental distress signals as signified by the black square held together by a bivalve shell, references to the status of fishing in the inverted conic forms and ocean acidification by carbonised lemon - the lemon itself continuing a cultural meme in Scottish art - and the sifting and grading of calcified maerl and shells from Western Isles beaches. Charcoal sourced from kelp and the use of "the net" throughout is deliberate in the connecting together of historic complexities and communities both past and future and the use of black net to construct dayshapes. Originally made as a maquette for sculpture summarising cultural journeys under sail made in 2019 and first shown in the Sail Britain exhibition "Fragile Ocean", St Johns at Bethnal Green.
by jennie speirs grant
Plastic lemons, carbonised lemon, coal briquette, carbonised buttercups, heather and seaweed, plastic lemon nets (yellow and black), lemon yellow card
h: 22 w: 40 d: 25 (cms).
A warning artwork, coded to hazard, partly suggested by watching the yellow haze of pollution from shipping on the sea's furthest horizon whilst sailing. The work reflects on the hidden realities of increasing ocean acidification, the potential for carbon sequestration and observation of plastic waste in the context of seas and oceans. The innocence of buttercups associated with childhood play reflecting the yellow back to us, the fragility of the carbonised buttercup translating yellow to black in its pure carbon form, combined with the brevity of the Summer and time passing, A work of reminiscence and loss titled from within the Irish traditional song, The May Morning Dew discovered even further to the West. .