20 Aug– 25 Sep 2016
For better or worse tartan has come to virtually define the image or branding of a nation. Jim Pattison’s journey of exploration into tartan began with that of his own family. After which he researched, cross-referenced and spliced its symbolic, historic and cultural associations, the myth and the reality, to create this exhibition. He resurrected the idea of maide dealbh or pattern sticks, thought to be an ancient method of recording traditional designs with exact thread and colour numbers, and extended the project into tartan designs using genetic information from his own DNA.