Artists
Lorenzo Casali and Micol Roubini
Henry Coombes
Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva
~ in the fields
Curated by Emily Wyndham Gray
Project Partners
Forestry Commission Scotland
Bailies of Bennachie
Aberdeenshire Council Rangers
University of Aberdeen – Sir Duncan Rice Library, Special Collections and Museums
With thanks to
Dr. Edward Schofield, School of Geological Sciences, University of Aberdeen; Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University; Seventeen; Aberdeen City Council; David Blyth (Artist); Paul Cosgrove, Environmental Art, Glasgow School of Art.
Description
Bennachie is among the best-known and most prominent mountain ranges in North East Scotland. Situated on the edge of the Cairngorm National Park and characterised by granite tors, open heather moor-land and woodland, it is home to a wide range of diverse habitats.
Collaborating across disciplines, backgrounds, methodologies and practices, the artists and project partners took up the exploration of What is Natural Bennachie? Through films, sound installation and site-specific performance, the work created engages with the natural phenomena, cultural heritage, anthropological investigations and geographical forms of this remarkable place.
Methodology
The methodology for this project was an exploration of cross-discipline collaboration. With a focus of navigating the ‘natural’, each artist was commissioned to work within a particular medium and area. The outcomes were to encompass the field of contemporary visual art practice and the expanded field of sculpture, and to push the boundaries of contemporary practice within a rural community.