Following Charles Morrison

Time in Belfast was spent at the Ulster Museum repository looking at 19th century seaweed albums, including those connected to Charles Morrison (see previous posts!) Although I was staying one minute's walk away from the Museum, all their albums are housed in a secure facility many miles away. Luckily I had a lovely curator to look after me who drove me there each day and facilitated my access.

My working table within the UM repository.

 This is the album I came to see at the Ulster Museum, so it was an emotional moment for me, having discovered a lot through reading about it only through published papers.

After my research at the Ulster Museum, I left Belfast and drove north to each and every known site that Charles Morrison had collected the seaweeds he put in his many albums.....the Giant's Causeway, Portrush, Moville, Greencastle to name a few. 

The spectacular Giant's Causeway

Northern Ireland Coastline

Portrush

Rockpools at the Giant's Causeway

 Not only did I follow in Charles' footsteps along the wide beaches, rocky shorelines and isolated promontories, I also collected seaweed samples myself from each place so that I could have my own contemporary collection that mirrored his. Except not as prolific...!

Some of my Northern Irish seaweeds

Charles Morrison also collected along several sites along Lough Foyle, so I spent a few days at Derry-Londonderry (the 'PC' version of Derry....one radio announcer also coined the popular term "Slash City"). I was delighted to walk along one of the streets which incorporated this street art of  lovely marine pavers. One side of Lough Foyle is in County Derry, the other is in County Donegal. 

Marine inspired street art on a pavement in Derry-Londonderry

 He also collected at Lough Swilly, also in Co. Donegal. One of the most spectacular beaches I have seen on my travels was near Portsalon, on the far north coast of Lough Swilly. It was a really rough and winding road to drive down, and up, as the roads were so narrow.  Added to this was the temperature - over 30 degrees, something Irish roads are not used to.  The very bitumen was melting as we drove along, sticking to our tyres and also our shoes! But it was worth it in the end to walk on this beautiful and relatively deserted beach near Ballymastocker Bay.

Beautiful Ballymastocker Bay, Co. Galway

Back home now but still processing photos and seaweed for further posts....and getting data together for my research.

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

The Old Post office building in Picton with Seaweed Album artwork

Just thought I would share some photos with you from IlluminARTe in Picton last Saturday night.  The two buildings I was asked to provide artwork for were the Old Post Office and the Old Bank buildings on the corner of Menangle Street. My inspiration for the Old Post Office was the Charles Morrison Seaweed Album from the NMA that I have been researching. The image above is reconstructed from the intricately tooled leather cover of the seaweed album that I have reconfigured to fit the building.

Animated seaweeds gracefully floating across the facade.

I worked with Jerome Pearce from Just Pixels in Sydney who animated the images on both the buildings.  The Old Bank Building on the opposite corner was inspired by the beautiful lithographs drawn by William Henry Harvey, the noted Irish phycologist,  for his five-volume Phycologia Australica that he wrote after his 18 month visit to Australia, New Zealand and the Friendly Islands in 1854-5.

Underwater discoveries with HW Harvey lithographs

I think Jerome had fun with this one and I thank him for taking some underwater stills off the beach near his house.  This building was a little more difficult to read as the lower portions of the building could not be lit because they were so recessed, so a lot of the imagery towards the bottom got a little lost with people and signage etc getting in the way.  

During the day the other artists and myself manned the pop-up gallery where we showed are our artworks and I thank Susan Conroy and Wollondilly Council for making this all happen.  It was a great night, lots and lots of people and plenty of food and stalls to while away the hours.

Flowers of the Sea

Bridie Smith's article in yesterday's papers.

Yesterday was very exciting for me, because I could finally "come clean" about what I had been  doing during the final months of my arts residency at the National Museum of Australia, supported by the Australia Council. Those of you who have been following my residency and blog may have wondered why suddenly all went quiet....!

The above article, written by Fairfax journalist Bridie Smith, featured in The Age, The Canberra Times and the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday, reveals that I had found the identity of the collector of the anonymous "Port Phillip Album" of 19th century pressed seaweeds, collected predominantly in the Port Phillip Bay area of Melbourne between 1859 and 1882. The full article can be read here http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-tech/flowers-of-the-sea-20170327-gv7wum.html.

Not only did I discover that the album was made by an elusive and little known collector, Charles Morrison, but that there were also 6-10 other albums by him in other institutional collections throughout NSW and Victoria. This was a great coup not only for the NMA, who now have provenance for their album, but also for me as an artist in residence working within a museum, and researching historical collections, which is where I realise my passion lies. Although that is quite obvious to many who follow my work and exhibitions that usually inspired by  botanical collectors, scientists and objects with social and cultural history. I feel it is also a great validation for all of us who work as artists in residence within scientific or cultural institutions - many people still do not understand what real benefits an artist can bring to the institution, scientist or researcher, and we are often seen as merely capable of delivering decorative outcomes that do not impact upon the serious work done by the institution. 

I am now in the process of writing an academic paper for publication and inspired to keep researching these and other collections from the 19th century, so stay tuned!