This year’s residency is for the whole eight weeks of the dig. I am now thoroughly integrated into the workforce as an artist, and the archaeologists know what I’m trying to achieve. My aim for this season is to continue recording human involvement, specifically the emotional responses to the archaeology. I will also continue to work on my film, looking to fill in any gaps in the ‘story’.
Alongside the practical work, I intend to reflect on how my drawings are making a valid contribution to the archaeological record – and the implications for perceptual artworks in other fields of research.
Back to the hard reality of working in Orkney. It was a wet and windy start. So today they are only removing the tyres from the trenches – working in long lines to roll them to the stacks. It is too windy to lift the tarpaulins, which will have to wait until tomorrow.
There is a lot of water to be bailed out.
The weather forecast for tomorrow is a little better – and, with any luck the Art Hut portacabin will arrive too.
