Lobht nan Seol: The Sail Loft Exhibition comprised of works by four varied, contrasting and international artists. Selected by Lewis artist Ian Stephen to join him in the debut show were Carina Finn from Sweden, Mikko Paakkola from Finland, and fellow Leodhasach Moira Maclean.
Based on the iconic building that was central to Stornoway’s maritime past, this project by local artists Ian Stephen and Moira Maclean with Carina Fihn (Sweden) and Mikko Paakkola (Finland), celebrates the international herring trade with the Baltic sea-ports. Paintings on sailcloth, an installation created from the multiple layers of wallpaper rescued from the building, photography, projection and video, it takes an alternative, creative and non-historic look at local history, industry, culture and community.
Exhibition Reviews:
Stornoway Today, October 5th 2005
“Hanging the past on new gallery walls
AS the doors to the new An Lanntair Arts Centre opened last weekend, and with an estimated 5,000 visitors on Saturday October 1 alone, it is undeniable that the latest development in the establishment of An Lanntair is set to breathe a breath of fresh air into the arts scene of the Western Isles. How fitting then, that for the first exhibition to be held in the revolutionary, state of the art gallery, should focus on the history and heritage of the port town of Stornoway.”
Northings – Highlands and Islands Art Review
” This project, in its grasping of what remained in that building (the former Sail Loft in Stornoway), records and preserves in spirit the unique interface between permanence and impermance, restlessness and the settled way, as though the thoughts and feelings of men could somehow cross the material barrier from mind to matter and drench the physical with the salt of memory and experience: life the hard way, without vanity.”