The dig is over for another year. The last two days involved packing up the Art Hut, while dodging in and out of the rain to draw and record the trenches being covered in sandbags, tarpaulin and tyres that will […]
No writing today but lots of drawings. Here are a few: Preparation for covering the Ness of Brodgar site. First rolling tyres to the side of the trenches. Next piling up the sandbags. While some of the archaeologists do paperwork. […]
Today is the last day available for excavation and planning continues all over the site. My drawing is of a young archaeologist doing a carefully measured drawing and balancing on a single stone to avoid damaging the delicate floor surface. […]
The photo of my corner of the Art Hut represents half the artists’ space. Yesterday was Open Day and we had 100 visitors. As we can only fit in two or three people at one time, it was a busy […]
Today the main trench is being cleaned in preparation for aerial images from the drone. Everyone is involved bringing a distinct change of mood and pace. There is a lot to do. Every weed and bit of green bloom that […]
One of the joys of a residency is sharing my work with the host organisation. For some time now it has felt like a very fruitful partnership with the archaeologists on the Ness of Brodgar. But on a more personal […]
The day began with a discussion on the Neolithic method of construction. It seems that they started with good intentions but when chaos intervened they made the best of what they had. How many of us artists identify with this […]
My random sketches and sound recordings are the raw material for at least two outcomes – to date, a film and a book. The book, which will consider the role of perceptual art in other areas of research, is a […]
The Ness of Brodgar Project Manager, who is in charge of finds, together with the resident geologist ‘The Rock Lady’ encourage me to experiment in mark making with rocks from the site. These are usually silt stone or sandstone. For […]
It seems everything gets bigger and more complex – including this project. For the Ness of Brodgar this means both enlarging trenches to discover more archaeology, and amazing advances in technology. Today I revisited a particular viewpoint at the upper […]
There was no digging yesterday due to the storms – so a chance to work at home on the film, editing sound. It’s a very slow process, sifting through recordings to find the few moments that make the best contribution […]
More thinking than artwork today – at least to start with. I’ve been trying to get to grips with the rhythm of the dig and my place in it. Having tried various scenarios for various people – management, supervisors, students, […]
Some days I start out with particular intentions and one by one they fall by the wayside. My first aim this morning was to draw the start of the archaeological day, but although I made a great effort to arrive […]
Damp, not actually raining at the moment, but mild and humid. Flies are a nuisance. Apparently the biting midge season is later on – but I’m not going to take any chances and cover myself in midge repellant. Not much […]
This may be the last week of excavation in Trench Y. I therefore need to complete collecting material on it. This morning they were clearing away earth and rubble to get to the ‘natural’ earth, using shovels and mattocks […]