Today is the start of the final push to bring my new collection of work together for my exhibition, at The Pier Arts Centre in summer 2022.
For years I have been having a recurring dream, I am sure I have told you about it before. It features me swimming in the Hoy Sound, trying to get to the other side over the rough patch of sea. I get stuck on a Skerrie while others are waving at me from the land. It is peaceful and I never quite know if I get there. Recently I have been dreaming about being on Hoy, walking through the heather and sliding down the hills. A few weeks ago I subconciously painted the shape of a selkie resting on the Rackwick cliffs.
In my waking life, I am recently back from a few days on Hoy were we walked, wandered and watched. For me, Hoy is the kind of place where time is told by the light – it is instantly relaxing. As part of the trip our walking took us up to the Old Man, across to St John’s Head and over the Cuilags. Looking across to Ward Hill, through to Rackwick and over to the Mainland. Our wandering took us around Rackwick, into Burnmouth Bothy to visit my flying birds, over the boulders onto the beach and around the paths following the burn. Plenty of time to watch and see something not seen before. My son said when we arrived “this place looks new every time we come!”
This morning when back in the studio painting, I listened (again) to Tales of Hoy a series of five podcasts that can be found on the Hoy Heritage website. A gathering of voices telling stories of people and places, giving the listener all the information needed to get a sense of Hoy. A snippet that made me smile was George Mackay Browns description of Rackwick as the “hidden valley of light” and the hills being described as compassionate. I like that. Maybe that is why my dream is peaceful?
This trip has given me space to reflect and consider what brings my recent work together as a collection. I am looking forward to discussing this in more depth and sharing stories when my exhibition opens later in the year. For now, what I can say is that Hoy is most definitely a feature throughout the collection – it’s colours, shapes and textures through my eyes.
Laura Drever 