MHAIRI KILLIN
ABOUT THE ARTIST
The third talk in part 1 of our series was dedicated Mhairi Killin RSA. Mhairi then join us again for part 2 and part 3 of our series, speaking with the authors Alastair McIntosh and Bathsheba Demuth, respectively.
Alongside her artistic practice, Mhairi is the creative director of Aosdàna, which provides affordable workspaces for nine island microbusinesses while continuing a 120-year tradition of making jewellery on Iona. Living on Iona exerts a distinct influence on Mhairi’s artistic practice, which explores the physical and metaphysical spaces that surround her, taking into account the multi-faceted belief structures – religious, mythopeic, and socio-political – which shape them.
This is also reflected in her most recent work On Sonorous Seas, an interdisciplinary and collaborative project that began when a whale carcass was found on an Iona beach in August 2018. For centuries, when washed ashore, a whale carcass provided food and resources for the local community, as Mhairi tells in the first episode of her podcast. After reading reports of another 117 beaked whales that landed on the beaches of the Hebrides, Ireland, Iceland and the Faroes, she began to investigate possible reasons for their deaths. The bodies of those whales lifted the veil of invisibility that often seems to lie upon the seas - especially for those of us whose lives are estranged and detached from it.
On Sonorous Seas explores the link between the deaths of those whales and military activity and particularly sonar in British waters. It shows the destructive impact on the seas’ inhabitants that result out of the anthropogenic quest to map the otherwise invisible through sonar, a practice of which many may not be aware – out of sight out of mind. The project asks difficult and complex questions regarding this tension, and seeks to promote deep listening, while encompassing themes such as invisibility to explore the relationships of humans and “nature” as well other species. Doing so provides an opportunity to reflect on what energy and energy ethics can entail and mean, and help shape discussions about interspecies relations and our relationship to our surroundings, by thinking about forms of energy exchange (including within the context of “mindfulness”).
For more information, have a look at the On Sonorous Seas website, give a listen to its brilliant podcast, and visit Aosdàna online or in person, when on Iona.
Mhairi is a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and has received numerous awards and grants for her work. Her art has been widely exhibited, in both national and international institutions, most recently in Rotterdam and on Iona.
WATCH THE FULL RECORDING OF MHAIRI’S TALK BELOW
