#archive research
Artist in Residence Exhibition
‘Summer Has Been Turned To Winter By The Guns’ (2017)
at
The Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection)
8th October 2017 – 18th March 2018
“It has been a real experience for staff, volunteers, visitors and local schoolchildren to work with our Artist in Residence on this project – seeing our World War One archive through fresh and creative eyes. Robyn Woolston’s exhibition is stunning, thought-provoking and presents a personal response to ‘The Great War’ from the artist and the children and adults who contributed to the project.”
Education Officer, Gill Bird
Project Blog: https://highlandersmuseumww1.tumblr.com
Location:
Fort George is a ‘registered Ancient Monument’ and for over 235 years has been a military garrison and training depot for a Regular Infantry Battalion of the British Army. It is currently home to the 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Set in what was formerly the Lieutenant Governor’s house, the Highlanders’ Museum was founded over 60 years ago. The museum houses more than 5,000 gallantry awards and campaign medals won by the fighting men of the regiment as well as silver and personal artefacts. It also contains a set of Colours carried at the Battle of Waterloo and King Edward VIII’s regimental uniform.
Opening Times: 10.00am - 3.15pm / closed at weekends Dec & Jan
Admission to the Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection) is FREE but you must pay an admission charge to visit Fort George. Adult - £9.00 Concession - £7.20 Child aged 5–15 - £5.40 Under 5 - FREE
Exhibition Fabrication: G & T Project Management
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I’m midway through the research stage of my residency at Fort George, a large 18th-century fortress near Ardersier, to the north-east of Inverness, Scotland. Working out of the Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection), the museum covers three floors of Fort George’s former Lieutenant Governors’ House.
Project Aims:
- To respond creatively to the World War 1 displays and archives at The Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection).
- To engage with local children and communities
- To produce a finished artwork/exhibition to be exhibited at The Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection) for 6 months (October 2017 - March 2018)
So far I’ve been working here for three months and completed 5 primary school workshops which have resulted in a wall-based battlefield mural, a series of imaginary medals, a collection of Trench Poetry and a series of letters home to loved ones.
‘We are absolutely delighted to welcome artist Robyn Woolston to The Highlanders’ Museum as our Artist in Residence and are excited about the work she has already been doing. The project will help bring our First World War archive to life featuring some of the interesting stories and characters which exist in the original letters, diaries and photographs kept by Highland soldiers during the conflict.’
Gill Bird / Education and Outreach Officer
From personal, hand-drawn, love letters to military orders, each visit provides a proliferation of compelling avenues for investigation.
It’s a time of immersion and editing, of reflection and navigation through a collection that houses thousands of objects, photographs, paintings, uniforms and reference texts.
‘God bless my DEAR DADDY at the WAR and keep him safe. With little Duncan’s love.’ / SGT DAVID J MCRAE 240180
‘Take this for your mascot’ / SGT DAVID J MCRAE 240180
It’s also a time of contemplation in terms of the ‘axis’ that embodies ‘where’ creative response meets military rigour. Of considering how suitability and juxtaposition may highlight-and-handle harrowing conflict-based narratives. I’m conceiving of plans which will both comment and illuminate with the intention of partially pushing aside many of the traditional conventions, or norms, in terms of museum display. Questions arise as to ways in which one can effectively honour tradition whilst reigniting/reframing perceptions.
S U M M E R H A S B E E N
T U R N E D T O
W I N T E R B Y T H E
G U N S
(A label found below a photograph housed deep within a section of the photographic archive not open to the general public)
Primary School Medal Workshop (photoset 2 of 2)
I’ve been exploring WW1 medals, honours and awards with a group of local primary school children. We’ve taken inspiration from medals found within the collection at the Highlanders Museum, Inverness.
The workshop also considered shape, design, context & colour when creating our imaginary awards.
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The upcoming exhibition of works from my residency at The Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection) at Fort George, Scotland, has been extended into 2018.
It will now run from October 2017 - March 2018
Watch this space for further updates or follow the project blog for research posts as the story develops:
https://highlandersmuseumww1.tumblr.com
Museum website: http://www.thehighlandersmuseum.com
Location: Fort George, Ardersier, Inverness IV2 7TD, Scotland
Phone Number: +44 131 310 8701
Photo credit: My research photographs show a newspaper from the archive at Fort George. ‘Prisoners of War’ by Jean Pierre Laurens is a testimony on the German occupation during the 1st World War.
It can be found within the Seaforths documentation (No’s 80 - 133 + 84 - 101)
