Earthbound Orkney
EBUKI is delighted to be delivering a programme of events on Orkney through 2024, exploring the heritage, culture, science and environmental resurgence of the natural clay subsoils of this wonderful archipelago.
Project Lead: Becky Little, Tom Morton
2024, UK
There is a free exhibition, public talks, training workshops and a book. There’s more information on all of these and how to get involved in person or online below.
Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland and supported by Orkney Museum, University of Highlands & Islands, National Museums of Scotland, Orkney College, Ness of Brodgar Trust, Orkney Science Festival, Orkney Japan Association and many others, the project is being delivered in association with Scottish earth experts Arc Architects and Rebearth.
THE EXHIBITION
· Maeshowe Visitor Centre, Stenness
27th June – 31st August 2024
· Ship O’Fools Gallery, Kirkwall
5th – 12th September 2024
Part of the Surf & Turf exhibition during Orkney International Science Festival.
Some of the most mysterious things found in excavations of the first homes on Orkney are small balls of clay, discovered on at least eight sites and about 5,000 years old. Sometimes single balls, sometimes dozens, some rough and lumpy, others smoothly spherical. Who made them and why is unclear. While they are unusual in Scotland, similar things have been made around the world in other cultures and times. The exhibition displays 16 Neolithic clay balls found at three locations on Orkney.
What is clear is that a relationship to earth was key to the Neolithic culture on Orkney. Farming relied on knowledge of the fertility and drainage of earth, while pottery required an understanding of the physical chemistry of different clays, their plasticity and response to heat. But earth was also fundamental to Neolithic construction; mortar and cores in stone walls, plasters and pigments, bedding and sealants, and above all beautiful beaten clay floors. It was a tradition of earth construction that lasted in Orkney until the late 19th Century.
This exhibition presents an exploration of the clay earths that were deposited on Orkney during the last Ice Age and were used in traditional craft and construction. From the large deposits of gold and red clay to the smaller amounts of exotic blues, greens, whites and blacks found in special locations. Some are stony, sandy or silty, while others are oily and organic, influenced by peat that built up on top.
Thirteen different locations on three islands are represented here by their earths, in raw form rammed into cubes, and as polished spheres. Sourcing and making these contemporary artefacts is part of a rich dialogue with Place and Past though Orkney’s earths and it’s heritage community. It explores a human connection through making that is 5,500 years old, embedded in muscles, memories and landscape. But it also signals a re-connection with natural and local materials that is part of our response to the Climate and Nature Emergency.
TALKS
· Clayfest Conference, Chesham
Friday 19th July 2024
As a taster to introduce the project, Becky Little and Tom Morton, who are leading the project, gave a talk about it at this year’s Clayfest near London in July.
· Orkney Science Festival, Kirkwall
Thursday 5th September 2024
A public lecture during Orkney Science Festival.
The lecture will also be streamed online, on October 30th 2024 at 7pm-8:30pm
TRAINING WORKSHOPS
A series of four 1-day training workshops for professionals and the public will be given in Orkney, explaining the science of earth building, the 5,000 year-old heritage on Orkney and hands-on experience of traditional and modern techniques. The dates are
Public Workshop Saturday 7th September
Professional Workshops Mon 9th & Tues 10th September
Workshop for Schools Wednesday 11th September
We will post information through the summer, but if you are interested in participating, please contact the team by emailing tom@ebuki.co
THE BOOK
A book to accompany the exhibition has been written by Becky Little and Tom Morton. It gives lots of background information on the project, Orkneys earth building culture, the Neolithic clay balls and the art works made for the exhibition. ISBN 9780955058011.
You can buy a copy at the exhibition, at the Orcadian Bookshop in Kirkwall, or online at Earthbound Orkney - The Orcadian Bookshop.
Earthbound Orkney is made possible with support from Historic Environment Scotland, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Orkney Museum, Ness of Brodgar Trust, Orkney International Science Festival, University of Highlands & Islands, National Museums of Scotland and many others. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to share the beauty and significance of Orkney’s earth culture.