A Journey's end at Dunfermline Abbey
The idea behind this project is that at our very beginnings we might carry some kind of cultural memory, a memory that travels across the generations, and that echoes of our past, and the past of our lands, faintly resides in all of us.
For each nightly performance, and with the help of Forth Park Maternity Hospital in Kirkcaldy, we were able the bring the details, the exact time of birth and the first ever image of a new born baby to the audience of the event. Those details will be coming to this page very soon.
Born in Another Land
Early on in the development of Another Land we began discussions with Forth Park Maternity Hospital in Kirkcaldy to look at the possibility of featuring a new born baby on each day of the final event in Dunfermline Abbey. The team at Forth Park were fantastically supportive of the project and a letter was circulated amongst mothers to be who had due dates on or around the 25th to the 27th of February.
On the morning of February the 25th, we waited very anxiously to hear the news of any births to coincide with the first evening event and, with hours to go before the event opened to the public, we got news of a baby girl - baby Docherty - the first baby born in Another Land.
On the following days Ruari Cunningham and Bryan Harry Thomson also took the central role in the event for the first day of their lives.
We would like to thank the parents of Baby Docherty, Ruari and Bryan Harry for their support of the project and to the midwives of Forth Park Maternity Hospital who had our barrage of enquiries to put up with and who took all of the pictures and managed to email them with all of the details in time for each evening's event.
The Babies of Another Land
An introductory work by Contemporary Arts Dunfermline
The members of Contemporary Arts Dunfermline are currently working on the creation of an introductory installation for the entrance to the event in and around the gardens of Abbot House. in response to the ideas behind Another Land.
The members of CAD creating the installation are Lainy Allison, Mary Johnston, Simon Faulkner-Griffan, Scott Hunter, Graham King and Ross Forbes.
From the members of Contemporary Arts Dunfermline
Contemporary Arts Dunfermline (CAD) is a forum set up by a group of artists to help creative people, of all media, find a platform to showcase their talents and by bringing people together we hope to widen and enrich our environment.
We were delighted and intrigued to be asked to design an installation for Abbot House Garden as the starting point for the jouney to Another Land. The on-line story at www.another-land.co.uk was our inspiration and we picked out, the crow - the bringer of souls, the ferryman - who carries souls away, Brigid - a mother goddess and other elements which seemed important to us to be incorporated into the garden. It also had to be in keeping with the site which is full of history and heritage. With this in mind we decided we wanted to create a series of modern, contemporary “standing stones” to be placed around the garden for people to contemplate. As well as the “stones” the big panel is a journey through time which is both parallel and cyclical in nature, it moves forward but also loops back on itself.
The installation by Contemporary Arts Dunfermline as an introduction to the event in the gardens of Abbot House
The Pilgrim, Dunfermline Abbey - November 2008
