GAFFER
Impressions from a
Loch Fyne Skiff
Opening Night Saturday 7 June 6-8pm, everyone welcome.
Gaff: The wooden spar used on a traditional yacht to hoist the sail which is suspended from it.
GAFFER is a multi media exhibition exploring the real and imagined narratives in the life of the Loch Fyne Skiff, Kirsty, giving them expression through a variety of media including photographs, salt and peat paintings, moving image, sound recordings and objects.
The artists collaborate through their different arts to capture the spirit of Kirsty on whom they sailed for 25 years.
Sitting within the wider context of social and maritime history, GAFFER explores the intrinsic value of traditional craft in a modern society where collective memory still informs a common cultural identity.
Commissioned in 1921, Kirsty was built as a family cruising yacht at Ardmalesih boatyard on the Isle of Bute. The design faithfully follows the graceful lines of a Loch Fyne Skiff, a vessel commonly used for ring-net fishing across the West coast of Scotland in the late 19th century. Consequently Kirsty became an important part of our maritime and social history.
Kirsty is one of the few Loch Fyne Skiffs still afloat and is registered with National Historic Ships UK.
Pat Law works across a range of art forms including drawing, painting, film and
installation usually in collaboration with artists of different genres. She
exhibits in galleries, outdoor locations and makeshift venues across
Scotland and internationally. Residencies include Arctic Circle, a sailing
expedition resulting in a subsequent exhibition in a disused herring factory in Iceland.
Mhairi Law is an award-winning photographer who lives and works on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With projects spanning from the
Faroe Islands, Chilean Patagonia and Lewis, Mhairi's photographic work is rooted in rural environments.
Kirsty Law is an innovative Scots song maker and singer. Learning from some of Scotland and Ireland's great tradition bearers, she has gone on to compose her own material dubbed by BBC Radio 3 as 'spellbinding'.
GAFFER is also produced through Kirsty Law's arts production company,
Helm Arts.
Technical producer, Andy Law
A recently retired architect (from Reiach and Hall Architects), Andy is now applying his skills to producing installations for his artist family.
