This display will showcase artist Henry Castle and design collective Lateral North’s research and proposals for a contemporary memorial to acknowledge the nineteenth-century crofters’ land struggle in the Staffin area.
Since 2014, ATLAS Arts has been working with the Staffin Community Trust (Urras An Taobh Sear) to produce a series of pilot commissions with a view to creating a contemporary memorial to acknowledge the nineteenth-century crofters’ land struggle in the Staffin area.
Henry and Tom Smith (of Lateral North) have been exploring the history and significance of the crofters’ uprisings which took place across twenty-three townships in the area over the past year. From conversations with local crofters, academics, studying archival documents, and visiting sites of significance, both have built on their initial ideas and are keen to invite discussion around their proposals.
In particular, Henry’s research has become focused on the history of Loch Leum nam Bradh (Loch of the Leaping Quern Stones) and the significance of quern stones to the crofters in the area at the time of the uprisings; whilst Tom has utilised mapping and digital technologies to investigate how augmented reality and audio/visual experiences could be used to bring a memorial to life.
A central aim of these commissions is for the artists to contribute to the awareness and understanding within the local community of the potentially positive impacts and benefits of a commissioned public artwork/contemporary memorial. This week-long display will offer those interested in the project an opportunity to see what Henry and Tom have been working on and to talk to them about their work.