The Abandoned Web….From Kilmorack Gallery….What - No Archaeology?......
by Bernie Bell - 09:37 on 05 August 2023
The Abandoned Web…
I noticed a web being spun by a little black spider in the corner of the window-sill. The web grew and grew, and when the sun shone on it and through it – it was a beauty. I didn’t have the heart to clear it away, so I left it – Mike warning me that the spider could live for up to two years – I said I’d leave the web as long as ’Pydie’ was there.
The web continued to grow and spread along the sill, starting to engulf the replica Ball of Towie we bought at Calanais Visitor Centre…...
https://theorkneynews.scot/2018/02/08/our-trip-to-the-isle-of-lewis-3-calanais/
I have to admit, as spider webs go, it was getting a bit silly.
Then, a few day ago I saw ‘Pydie’ scurrying along by the other end of the kitchen table. Since then, no sign of him in the web where he used to sit, looking for all the world like he was looking out the window.
This may sound a bit daft, but the web now has a general air of abandonment – it looks lack-lustre and is getting ‘wispy‘ in places – lacking in maintenance.
I’ve decided to dust it away – if ‘Pydie’ is still there he can start again - but I’ve a feeling he’s ‘left home’.
Some might putter at my being so anthropomorphic – I’d rather be anthropomorphic about creatures, than kill them needlessly.
As chance would have it, Bartholomew Barker posted a ‘web’ poem in his blog…
Fraiku: Morning Light
Spiderweb caught in a sunbeam
becomes a braided waterfall
when seen from a side
https://bartbarkerpoet.com/2023/07/28/fraiku-morning-light/
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From Kilmorack Gallery…
“I can't think of a more dramatic way to begin August than with Helen Denerely's solo exhibition 'Salvage.' This show is a major accomplishment in all dimensions. Heavenwards, Denerley’s infinity column reaches 6.5 meters, outwards her giant spider has a diameter of over 5 meters and, for the small things, her bees are not much larger than a sugar cube. It embraces twenty poets in her haiku sphere and raptors, insects and mammals. This is the world of Helen Denerley and shows what can rise from a scrap pile, what she calls her library. There is beauty in what most walk past.
'Salvage' previews this Saturday from 2pm - 5:30pm and all are welcome. The exhibition continues until the 31st August.
We recommend a visit. It is very physical, walking under the giant spider and through the orangutan's gaze, but if you can't make it, a 3d walkaround is now online and all work can be seen on the gallery's website.
Tony Davidson, Gallery Director”
Please contact the Gallery for more information… https://www.kilmorackgallery.co.uk/publications/83-salvage-new-work-by-helen-denerley/
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I like to kid myself that my ‘snake’ – made of metal, found on a beach….
….. echoes Helen Denerley’s ‘Snake’ – I did say I kid myself!
Her work reminds me of some pieces in the Ewe Garden Sculpture Trail, West Cork, Republic of Ireland…
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What - No Archaeology?......
Well – kind-of…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-66326629
……within flying distance of…
https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/2023-day-11/
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Here’s one I made earlier… https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/09/03/feeling-wistful-at-mine-howe/
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