Calum Ferguson: TAD/ATLAS Residency Progress

In July 2022, Calum Ferguson from North Uist, began his online residency exploring recordings available on Tobar an Dualchais. Here is what he had to say about progress so far:

I was drawn to the recordings that spoke of a place, people and culture that was familiar to me, yet, from which I felt separated by an expanse of time. The many recordings of Donald Sinclair of Tiree (for example TAD ID 65645) and Iain MacIver of Uig (TAD ID 33275) where they discuss stories and proverbs of Gaelic weather-lore, have been a constant influence throughout this residency.

The juxtaposition of sure fastness and ambiguity along with the trust that was held in these proverbs fascinates me.

Whether based in proven scientific rhetoric, blind luck or otherworldly powers, the weather-lore of the islands once held the same certainty as the online tables and charts which have now often taken their place.

The intersection of science and folklore has led me to begin developing a series of objects which respond to these weather-lore proverbs. By creating a dialogue between the human and the non-human and placing the viewer within the context of the proverbs, my aim is to re-strengthen the feelings of connectedness to nature, that is often lost in the immediacy and mechanical means by which information from our surrounding environment is now so often gathered.

To follow Calum's progress in more detail click here.