Grounded in Shetland

Image: Recount. 2013. Installation view of “dressed” bunker entrance at Sumburgh Royal Observer Corps Post (ROC). Photo: Cold War Projects, Roxane Permar and Susan Timmins

In this article I reflect on my experience as an artist who has become increasingly embedded in Shetland– an archipelago in the North Atlantic comprising more than 100 islands, sixteen of which are inhabited. My involvement with Shetland began in 1985, and I moved to the islands permanently in 2000 when I obtained very part-time hourly paid work on the new (and recently discontinued) contemporary textiles course at Shetland College, University of the Highlands and Islands (now ‘UHI Shetland’ since a merger in 2021).

I was drawn to Shetland not because it is breathtakingly beautiful but for its rich culture, unique identity and strong sense of community. My art practice has been shaped by Shetland, its culture and history, its values and attitudes – giving it roots and grounding. It has developed over several decades through a long, slow process, evolving as I increasingly became part of the Shetland community. Shetland feeds what I do, from its living landscape to its numerous and diverse communities.

My work within community contexts is a continuing journey which has roots in the 1970s when I was studying in the USA during a time of political upheaval and social change. In London during the late 1970s and 1980s I became politicised through working with feminist artists, trade unionists and the Brixton Artists Collective. I wasn’t directly involved in the community arts movement, but I was well aware of it, and I benefited from much that was achieved when the movement was at its peak.

After I moved to Scotland from London in 1998, my practice shifted from being primarily issue based around feminism and the nuclear threat, to becoming locally grounded in Shetland. Values shaped by feminism and honed through working as a feminist artist, teacher and academic informed, and continue to inform, my work within social contexts. These values range from the desire to be inclusive and open, responsive and flexible to being caring, humble, respectful, supportive and equitable. My personal ‘ground rules’ as a socially engaged artist help me navigate the multiple roles I have in our small community, whether unpaid or paid, as volunteer, incomer, friend; community agent or activist; artist, teacher, researcher.

Building Connections
Prior to moving to Shetland, I had established connections through regular visits over fifteen years. I realised two art projects which had community links prior to relocating permanently in late 2000 – The Nuclear Roadshow (1990) with artist Susan Timmins and the first stages of The Croft Cosy Project(1992-95) with Shetland knitter Wilma Johnson. I also organised an exhibition, Terrains de roses, at the Shetland Museum in 1997 which incorporated a participatory element.

Establishing Roots – Early Projects in Shetland
While I had worked with people in various kinds of participatory ways before I moved to Shetland, once resident I invited people increasingly to take part in projects through varying degrees of collaboration and participation, including young people, other artists and specialists in different fields of work. Significantly, I began to use digital media, in part because it provided a new way to connect with the world through the Internet, enabling easier working relationships with people based in different parts of the world and providing a way to both collaborate and make our work visible from Shetland.

Cartoon illustration of a boat, the "Dunter II", filled with people, traveling across water under a sunset sky, with the words "Shetland's Cauld Waters" above. A seagull perches atop the boat's cabin.

Shetland’s Cauld Waaters, 2001-2002. Invitation card to exhibition and web site launch at the Shetland Museum. Scottish Natural Heritage (now Nature Scot) Digital Commission.

A number of projects – Shetland’s Cauld Waters (2001-02), Fishtastic (2003-2004) and The Sonic Postcards Project (2004-05) — as well as my role as Community Agent for Burra Isle – formed an important way to establish roots in Shetland, enabling me to begin working meaningfully within the community. Each project used digital technologies, photography, animation, sound, moving image and light projection. All of the projects used the Internet, with the specific intention to facilitate connectivity. I quickly learned that by working with young people, I became involved with their families and friends, thus establishing a network of new connections and community of practice.

A young woman with auburn hair, seen from behind and to the side, holds a Panasonic camcorder, filming a seascape on a cloudy day. She wears a brown jacket and black camera strap around her neck, with another person's face visible on the left side of the frame.

Shetland’s Cauld Waaters, 2001-2002. Field work on the Dunter II. Scottish Natural Heritage (now Nature Scot) Digital Commission.

Illuminations – A Fresh Light
Mirrie Dancers (2009-12) was one of the largest projects I have undertaken. It was a community based project realised in two parts, ‘Mirrie Light’ and ‘Mirrie Lace’, that used light as a medium for creative engagement and public art for the first time in Shetland. ‘Mirrie Dancers’ is the Shetlaen word for the Northern Lights. I conceived the project with Nayan Kulkarni, a light specialist, in response to a commission from Shetland Arts Development Agency to create public artwork for Mareel, its new music, cinema and education centre in Lerwick, Shetland’s main town.

‘Mirrie Light’ involved over 300 participants taking part through workshops called Light Labs and processes of site selection in the eight parts of Shetland where ten temporary light installations were installed. Participants produced nearly 500 films which became part of these installations throughout autumn/winter 2009-10. In 2012 the films formed a permanent legacy as exterior illuminations at Mareel. The project enabled people to engage with their place in new ways. The temporary illuminations brought new attention to familiar landmarks and prompted people to think about familiar objects or landmarks in a new way. They generated a sense of community ownership as local residents looked forward to the illuminations. The differences between the communities impacted how participants engaged with their illumination, looked at their environment or viewed their places.

A collection of photos documenting a site selection panel and related activities for "Mirrie Dancers" temporary illuminations. The images show a group of people standing on a green field with a backdrop of a mountain and water, a group discussing at a table, and a group walking along a wall, with captions describing the events and locations.

Mirrie Dancers, Shetland, 2009-2012. Site Selection process for Mirrie Light. Clockwise from top left: Site Selection panel with representatives from across Shetland for temporary illuminations (Photo: Malcolm Younger); Short-listing sites in South Mainland with local guide and storyteller, Elma Johnson; Touring sites in Lerwick; Roxane Permar with participant in West Mainland; Touring potential sites in Central Mainland; Shortlisting sites for Lerwick and Bressay. Community based project initiated by Roxane Permar and Nayan Kulkarni. Commissioned by Shetland Arts Development Agency.

A weathered stone house glows with internal light against a twilight sky, other farm buildings and hills are in the background. The sky is filled with voluminous clouds.

Mirrie Dancers, Shetland, 2009-2012. Temporary installation at the Auld Haa East Burra. 2010. Community based project initiated by Roxane Permar and Nayan Kulkarni. Commissioned by Shetland Arts Development Agency. Photo: Mark Sinclair.

Modern building illuminated with purple and blue lights at night, reflected in calm water with small boats docked in foreground.

Mirrie Dancers, Shetland, 2009-2012. Exterior illumination at Mareel, Lerwick. Legacy of community based project initiated by Roxane Permar and Nayan Kulkarni. Commissioned by Shetland Arts Development Agency. 2012. Photo: Nayan Kulkarni.

In ‘Mirrie Lace’ we worked with twenty three lace knitters to create seventeen permanent light works using hand knitted lace for both the interior and exterior of Mareel. Collective work took place in Lace Labs, a contemporary take on Shetland’s traditional makkin and yakkin, or knit and natter. ‘Mirrie Lace’ knitters worked individually to produce small, experimental lace pieces which they brought to Lace Labs view and critique through one of our specially designed project light projectors. While many knew each other before joining Mirrie Dancers, the project offered the opportunity to come together as a group with a unique purpose. The lace projections brought a fresh eye to Shetland’s knitting heritage rather than to a specific place. ‘Mirrie Lace’ tested the relationship knitting can bring to the public and private, or intimate and monumental, alongside the fusion of traditional craft with new technologies.

A young child wearing a blue baseball cap and striped shirt stands in front of a wall with a complex, swirling pattern of dark lines and light shapes projected upon it.

Mirrie Dancers 2009-2012. Installation view of the exhibition ‘Mirrie Lace’ at Bonhoga Gallery, 2010. Projection of lace hand knitted by Kathleen Anderson. Community based project initiated by Roxane Permar and Nayan Kulkarni. Commissioned by Shetland Arts Development Agency. Photo: Roxane Permar.

Looking Outwards
Shetland projects during the early 2000s fostered connections with other places and provided precedent for me to employ local activity across more than one place. Some projects such as Roseland (2006), Domestic Dialogues (2007) and Swap Shots: Mobile Film Exchange (2008) actively linked Shetland with people in other parts of the UK and internationally, including Germany and Russia. Swap Shots generated multiple layers of interrelated creative engagement and exchange across a variety of national and political contexts; urban and rural cultures and generations.It was a mobile film exchange initially created for the 7th International Festival of Experimental Art at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, St Petersburg, Russia for which participants made six-second long films that were shared in various ways, including through a Weblog.

I have reworked Swap Shots over the years, most recently in 2020 for Home and Belonging, a 3-year arts-based research project led by the Centre for Island Creativity (UHI Shetland) and Who Cares? Scotland in collaboration with the #SHETLANDCREW, care experienced young people in Shetland. I was a member of the core team which included Dr Siún Carden, the project’s Principal Investigator (UHI Shetland) and Sian Wild, advocacy and engagement worker at Who Cares? Scotland, a Scottish membership organisation for care experienced people. Swap Shots offered a new way for the #SHETLANDCREW to creatively engage with each other during lockdown restrictions in the coronavirus pandemic.

A group of adults and a child, illuminated by headlamps, gather around a projected circular image on a wet pavement that includes the words "I hold my breath when I'm scared." One child, wearing a reflective vest and blue gloves, steps onto the illuminated circle. People are huddled around, documenting the moment, next to a branded van.

Swap Shots Mobile Film Exchange. Walkabout #2, experimental projection of an excerpt from writing by a member of the #SHETLANDCREW in writing workshop with Jen Hadfield. Lerwick, Shetland. 2020. Photo copyright: #SHETLANDCREW and Home and Belonging.

We shared our 6-second films in a WhatsApp group and came together in walkabouts to project the films onto buildings in Lerwick, experimenting with scale, surface and context by using a portable projector. This process led to series of public projections, called Projectiles, during 2021 and 2022 which comprised curated excerpts from their writing developed with the writer Jen Hadfield. Home and Belonging supported the #SHETLANDCREW to be able to grow in confidence and become close as a group. “Sharing deeply personal parts of themselves, as in the Projectiles, with strangers and peers, was an eye opening but scary experience. The public dissemination enabled them to make a connection with others and help share their vision and perspectives publicly” (Carden et al., 2022; p. 15).

Night time shot of a building with the words "I was kind of very alone" projected in green on its side. The building has multiple levels, balconies, and illuminated windows, with "Hjaltland Housing Association" visible near the entrance.

Projectile. Hjaltland Housing Association. Lerwick, Shetland. 2021. Photo: #SHETLANDCREW and Home and Belonging.

Night time shot of a large white cylindrical tank illuminated with the phrases "the loneliness" and "the lack of stability." A security fence with barbed wire surrounds the tank. A security camera is mounted on a pole near the tank. A metal gate with a warning sign about flammable materials and no smoking is in the foreground. The sky is dark and overcast.

Projectile. The Gas Tanks. 2021. Photo copyright: #SHETLANDCREW and Home and Belonging.

Echoes of the Cold War
Since 2012 I have been working with Susan Timmins in our collaboration Cold War Projects. We use diverse media and forms of creative engagement to exchange knowledge and perceptions of the nuclear era by connecting communities who, like Shetland, play an important strategic role by hosting NATO’s early warning defence system. Recount (2013) revolved around meetings and interviews with civilian volunteers for the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) in Shetland between 1961 and 1991 and also included four public events, a focus exhibition and three installations sited at three extant ROC posts. Through the project the volunteers reconnected both within Shetland and those from among the 1500 Posts dispersed throughout the UK. Their personal recollections create a poignant and powerful narrative which we shared through the Recount project page on our Cold War Projects web site as well as the Shetland Museum and Archives.

A woman with silver hair wearing a red and white knitted cardigan, holding headphones to her ears while looking down, a black Nikon camera bag in the background.

Recount. 2013. Interview with Gwen Jamieson, Chief Observer for the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) Post at Walls, Shetland. Photo: Cold War Projects, Roxane Permar and Susan Timmins.

A woman in a neon yellow safety jacket and black hat joyfully raises her arms next to a large, rectangular structure wrapped in beige fabric. The fabric displays repeating text in a brown typeface. The structure sits in a field of tall, dry grass.

Recount. 2013. Installation of textile covers at Walls Royal Observer Corps Post (ROC) with Roxane Permar. Photo: Cold War Projects, Roxane Permar and Susan Timmins.

Climate Crisis and the Nuclear Threat: Looking North
Shetland’s geographical position has not only provided strategic military importance in the 20th and 21st centuries but since the 1970s has been central to the North Sea oil industry. More recently Shetland is being seen as a ‘green energy’ hub through a dramatic move to develop the renewable energy industries. In the international collaborative project Nordic Connections: Learning from the past to shape the future, (2021-22) we linked two societal crises linked to these positionings – the climate crisis and the nuclear threat – through a project linking two island communities, Unst in Shetland and Onøy and Lurøy in northern Norway. Schools, members of each local community and local organisations took part using virtual tools, including online workshops and talks alongside local field work. Virtual platforms enabled us to share material while working, culminating in the development of a prototype gaming platform using young people’s work as content.

Road construction site on a green, hilly landscape under an overcast sky; a paved road leads from the foreground to the construction site in the distance, marked with red and white reflective posts; the new road construction area is marked with red material and orange cones.

Landscape in Pain #146120230714. 2023. Digital drawing and photograph. Roxane Permar.

Reflections
In Shetland my projects have overlapped and interconnected. One project flows into another. and participants often take part in multiple projects. Sometimes I wonder how I have managed to navigate Shetland’s convoluted social landscape over several decades. There are numerous layers of social dynamics, power hierarchies and entanglements, and as an incomer I can stumble across fraught and knotty relationships without being aware of them. Unlike projects in larger communities, everybody ‘knows’ or is aware of everyone through some kind of connection. It keeps me on my toes as I try to actively, and continuously, consider the dynamic between personal, social and professional situations.

Throughout each project I’ve tried to remain true to myself. I’ve learned to trust my instinct. I try to be open, responsive and flexible; kind and patient; respectful; inclusive; caring and supportive; and humble. It quickly became apparent that language is fundamental, and there is nothing like pretentious language to kill a project. Unexpected issues can emerge and create difficult challenges, even controversies. People are more important than any art project. By having my own ‘ground rules’ – core values and clear expectations about how I work – it is easier to be fair, responsive and decisive. Challenges are an important part of the ‘real’ work, and as Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso remind us, these issues are part of the work:

“We need to understand and accept ethical challenges as integral to the work… Resolving those problems is the work. It is how we do the work. It is how we help others and ourselves to learn and become empowered.” (Goldbard and Matarasso, 2021, p. 9).

References
Carden, S., Permar, R., & Wild, S., (Eds.) (2022). Home and Belonging. Exhibition catalogue. Available online.

Goldbard, Arlene, and François Matarasso. “Notebook N.01 Ethics and Participatory Art.” Art and Community, May 2021.

Grounded in Shetland

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