It is on the increase in the UK and the protected Atlantic oak woodlands of the west coast of Argyll, Scotland is an ideal location for lichen, liverworts and now Lyme disease. A warming climate is to blame as the culprits are ticks that now are not easily killed off in warmer winter weather.
argyll
Mutualism
Lichen are a composite organism that arise from algae living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship as tree spirits or dryads in Greek mythology do with oak or other tree species. Lichen come in many forms - they may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose. Lichens are good sounders of pollution free air and many thrive in the west coast Atlantic Oak woodlands of Scotland. This video poem was photographed and recorded at Taynish National Nature Reserve Argyll one of the finest examples of ancient Atlantic temperate rainforest oak woodlands in Europe 475 lichen species have been recorded at Taynish NNR, including 91 nationally scarce species.
Siskin
Beautiful citrus bird with rasping wheeze - so delicate and weightless. I held one and thought it was made of faery stuff
A lockdown of mist
Mid December, west coast Scotland enters in own version of lockdown. Everything is a hazy shadow of its real self - half in this world and half in the next. A rare moment of brightness to realise its an inversion with the sun pressing down on the heavy blanket of mist. The gone.
Another Life
Inspired by open water swimmers who seem to be able to plunge themselves into below body temperatures. I have tried twice to swim at the height of summer in Scotnish, Argyll encased in protective wetsuit with snorkel and goggles and lasted about 1 minute both times.
Light Glitches - Between Here and There
Inspired the work of Lesley Hicks from her Icelandic series where she painstakingly recreates the grainy interrupted static of digital traffic camera images across an unforgiving landscape. I work by abstracting information from my painting series of the River Add Estuary in Argyll to give the sense of transience that this landscape offers.
Two Tides
Once again I am drawn to the River Add estuary with its extensive sandbanks that stretch out into Crinan Bay. Watching the tide return from two different directions creates a sense that messages and stories are being transmitted as the ripples collide before reaching the end of their journey.
Kingfisher
Spring seems a long time arriving. The sighting of a Kingfisher in Argyll transported be to all the exotic places its brilliant plumage reminded me of and for a moment the world seemed brighter.
Seeking
A video poem inspired by the work of Emily Learmont entitled Sixteen Seascapes. Her work is dream like and of another world which prompted me to write this piece based on a seascape painting I had created a few years ago looking towards Danna Island in Argyll. Each is a vignette from the original but added to with items borrowed from my other art and photographic work such as boats, moonscapes and patterns of natural forms. The sixteenth image is the final painting.
Echo
One of those moments where you catch out of the corner of your eye the space once occupied by an otter - almost imaginary, but that absence intensifies its past presence - as if hearing an echo in the water.
The space between words
There is always a sense of the slowing down of time when mist emerges and rolls across water. This is enhanced when accompanied by silence. I caught this perfect scene at Scotnish in Agyll and formed the poem as I was recording.
Transition
The power of the turn of the tide always amazes me - the sense of wiping clean a slate. This is from one of my favourite locations in Argyll that I continue to be drawn to - the River Add estuary which has extensive sandbanks that stretch out into Crinan Bay. There is a powerful sense of being enclosed by water as the tide comes in - as sense of walking in a transitionary place.
Soft Bounce
Capturing the beauty of sounds and detail of winter bird activity
Poetry, Maps and Art
This one has been a long time in the making. I am fascinated by the River Add Estuary in Argyll as it journeys its winding course to the Crinan Bay and the Atlantic. The sense of freedom that comes with un-containment of the water and the contrast of the contained nature of its neighbour the Crinan Canal. The history and geology of the place are as always what inspires me. After initial sketches I decided to opt for an artistic interpretation of the OS Map which enabled me to reference some of the features I mention in the two poems.
