‘Washed up and Blue’
A collective exploration of objects that wash up on the Solway shores and the movements and migrations that bring them to us, using images, objects and words.
The creative works exhibited in “Washed Up and Blue” were created by Dawn, Helen, Leon and William over two weekends in January and February 2025, as part of a programme created by the Solway Firth Partnership , Shambellie House and Waste Stories.
The programme included participating in a beach clean at Southerness, where we selected objects – seaweed and feathers, mermaid’s purses and shoreline plants, but also manmade objects such as fragments of nylon rope and net, sea glass and pirate glass, shotgun cartridges and other marine plastics – to bring back to Shambellie House.
We enrolled these into creative processes including cyanotype printing and creative writing to produce the exhibition.
By juxtaposing the natural and the synthetic, in colours that themselves recall the marine environment, we hope to stimulate new thinking about both aesthetic beauty and our relationship with our planet.
The programme was made possible by support from Marine Fund Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway Regional Arts Fund and the University of Glasgow.
Impact
Our participants had the opportunity to take part in team building activities, connecting with each other, learning new skills and growing in confidence. The exhibition was enjoyed at Shambellie House and the when staff from Outpost Arts saw it they asked if it could be adapted for display in the Dumfries Royal Infirmary, launching on World Earth Day. Participants benefited from further confidence building and teamwork while curating the exhibition for the Art in Healthcare work, even being interviewed for tv.
Some quotes:
“It has given me more confidence to develop and grow. I am converting my shed into a creative space in my garden…” Helen
I would say my art has improved and I am looking to make a book of my own using this method. My work has become more important to me as I can incorporate plants I’ve given myself into my art” Leon
Check out this wee video to get a flavour of the event.
