Del Whitticase was the first of three artists involved in this project. His residency in the Merkinch area was connected to the Trinity Church and had close links to the community. The artist developed and created a new artwork with the local people and various groups.
Del has worked in Ireland, Spain, Greece, Canada and Scotland. He's produced large stone sculptures in liaison with young people at an addiction centre, created small sculptures with people that have suffered from strokes, taught at art colleges, and (most unusually!) was part of an award-winning team in the World Ice Carving Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska.
System by Del Whitticase
System uses satellite weather images to explore the theme of spirituality. The weather is used as a metaphor for spirituality – something that surrounds us all, affects us on a daily basis and something that we can all relate to.Bringing the weather inside invites the viewer to experience an internal journey and to explore their own sense of spirituality, whatever that might be.
The Thinking Behind System
‘System’ refers to the weather systems used as well as to systems of understanding, such as science, philosophy and the belief systems that we use to help make sense of the world. System touches on the human need to understand the world and the ways in which we attempt to have some control or input into forecasting the future, from tomorrow’s weather or to our own spiritual well-being.
Why Satellite Images Were Chosen
Satellite images are a way of looking at ourselves from the outside, giving us a unique perspective on ourselves and our world. They connect us to the macrocosmic and microcosmic world and our place within each. Locating System within Trinity Church places it within a spiritual environment and invites a process of introspection and reflection.
Connections With The Community
During the residency, workshops were run with the Merkinch Art Group and ‘Common Threads’, a multi-cultural, multi-faith sewing group. During these workshops umbrellas were used to explore spirituality. The umbrellas were decorated and transformed - each one providing shelter and protection as well as defining a very personal space. Since spirituality is a transformative process I wanted each person to take something everyday and transform it into something special that reflected and explored their own experience of spirituality. The results of this process were seen in the Methodist Church Hall, Huntly Street on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd October 2007.
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Video
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A short video documenting the installation process, the immediate environs of the church, Del's work with the local community and part of the opening night. |
Residency Images
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Press Release for System
Hanging By a Thread ...
Inverness is hosting a series of three 12 week residencies with a broad and extremely challenging theme - spirituality in contemporary setting.
The Other Side of Air was originally facilitated by Inverness Riverside Churches Association with three residencies spread over a nine month period exploring ‘arts and spirituality’ in the broadest sense. The project is supported by the Scottish Arts Council Partners Scheme, Inverness City Partnership, The Methodist Trust and Highland 2007 with three 12 week residencies taking place in the city centre until January 2008. The first was centred upon the Merkinch Area with artist-in-residence, Liverpool-born Del Whitticase designing a powerful and awe-inspiring artwork ‘SYSTEM’ for Trinity Church where it was open to the public from the 1st to the 6th October.
The project resulted in a flurry of workshops, and community-based practice co-ordinated by the first artist in residence; Del Whitticase. After a settling in period which commenced in late June, during which Del became familiar with the distinctive area of Merkinch area and its residents, he proposed introducing an unexpected object to act as a metaphor for spirituality - the inauspicious umbrella.
This idea of using the umbrella as a symbol was quickly embraced with energy, enthusiasm and humour by a number of different community groups in Merkinch. One group - COMMON THREADS - which is a multi-cultural multi-faith group of women, who support each other and sew together, took this challenge to their hearts and created extraordinary results. The women have come to settle in the Highlands and originate from many different parts of the world including India, Bangladesh, Jordan, and Slovakia.
Bringing their skills and perspective to bear, they created mini-worlds that touch on notions of shelter, protection as well as using the umbrella's structure to explore their personal response to what spirituality means to each of them.
The sewing styles varied considerably with a fantastic mix of techniques and materials employed - jewels, embroidered text, flowers, news cuttings, delicate symmetrical patterns, wild almost sculptural elements - collided to form an extraordinary flurry of unique umbrellas. These have been suspended across two floors of the Methodist Church, Huntly Street in Inverness which provided to be a surprisingly ideal space for the work to be seen during daylight and evening from the street.
Monika Lamackova from Slovakia was one of the participants in the workshops.
Monika Lamackova
Monika made two umbrellas each completely different. The first is a tribute to love: a white umbrella is covered with red teardrops – some of these are made of fabric and open like a tiny book with text embroidered inside. Held within the teardrop are words of love and faith with loose threads hanging from the text.
Monika’s exquisitely designed umbrella gives an overall sense of grace, tenderness and simplicity, cutting to the heart of the project’s theme.
Her second umbrella is a light-hearted look at contemporary spirituality in the west where money and beauty have become obsessions. Collage has been attached to a web-like umbrella skeleton with cuttings, vouchers for self-improvement and a prayer book of horoscope. The structure is exposed leaving no protection from the weather creating vulnerability, sense of nakedness and suggesting at a lack of function.
Jennifer Cantwell
Inverness-based designer/maker Jennifer Cantwell came to the Merkinch multicultural group to act as a bridge between Del and the group, to give Del practical help with a new medium and to help the group respond to the project, which they did with enthusiasm and humour.
‘The women come from all round the world (Jordan, Bangladesh, Slovakia) and are multi faith. The group dynamic is lively and the most striking aspect is how much support and respect the women show each other. One of the women is deaf and has a signer with her and we have all started learning which has been brilliant - I want to learn more!’
Jen is officially joining the sewing group next term because she enjoyed her time with them so much.
The Other Side of Air - Note By Artist/Designer Jennifer Cantwell
I'm a designer/maker based in Inverness, as my background is in drawing + painting and my current practice is in textiles, I came to the Merkinch multicultural sewing group to act as a bridge between Del Whitticase and the group, to give Del practical help with a new medium + to help the group respond to the brief, which they did with enthusiasm + humour.
I showed the group some of my own work to help them relate to me, and also brought in lots of reference material showing the work of contemporary textile artists so they could see the diversity of work being produced under the banner of textile art and to introduce the idea of using unusual materials and 3 dimensional forms within textiles.
The women come from all round the world and are multi faith; the group dynamic is lively and the most striking aspect is how much support + respect the women show each other. One of the women is deaf and has a signer with her to translate, we started having ten minute sign lessons at the tea break which was brilliant, I loved it + want to do more. I'll be going back to the group next term because I enjoyed my time with them so much, it was a really happy couple of hours in the week hanging out with a very cool group of women.
Jen Cantwell
3RD October 2007
Feedback From The Merkinch Art Group
This was a new experience for us to work with a visiting artist for more than one week. Del gave us an overview of his own art. His description of eastern religions and images of the colourful tiles, mandalas and patterns was interesting. The question ‘What does spirituality mean to you? ‘ set us thinking.
We were unsure, to begin with, what it was that Del wanted from us and what we were required to do. The focus on working in making patterns on squared paper was a different way of working for us. We preferred a blank canvas and thinking ‘out of the box’. Once we allowed our imaginations and our personal experience of imagery and spirituality free rein, we found that our ideas flowed.
Claire gave us a chance to see the work she has created in textiles and also provided some materials and ideas we could use. The weeks working with Del and Claire were a chance for us to appreciate their art and way of working.
We experienced some of the confusion and pressure in working on a project, which was similar to the kind of pressure Del described in his first session with us when he was given a commission with loads of restrictions. Fortunately we were able to follow through with our own ideas, to listen to other artists and appreciate their way of working and then to trust our own judgement about what felt right for us.
The work we did at home once we got over the trepidation of not quite knowing what was expected of us was an enthralling, spiritual experience. Once the work was started and ideas were put into practice, inspiration flowed.
I think our time working together involved a two way process and exchange of ideas. Teacher and student often learn from each other. It was a big learning curve for us and we hope that Del feels that he has learned something from working with us in return.
Additional Resources and Information
HI-Arts Feature on artist Del Whitticase View PDF version of Del's publicity leaflet |