Walking a Valley Section

Recently I have been commissioned to co-create with the communities of Aberdeenshire a memorial to their time in Covid. But how to do this in such a large county with over 250000 people living in over 6000 square kilometre? With people working in such diverse sectors as oil, fishing, farming, tourism and many other occupations across the shire.

My take on this is to take the county’s strapline literally and walk from Mountain to Sea.

My start is on Ben MacDui which is not only the highest mountain in Aberdeenshire, it also shares its top with Moray. In fact it is the second highest mountain in the UK, just after Ben Nevis. With me I carry a pink table cloth, which features the drawing of a Valley Section. The concept of a Valley Section has been developed by my friend and hero Patrick Geddes. It brings together the dialectic relationships between ecology and economy, describing people’s work in relation to the landscape.

My take is to walk a valley section, but look more at what people’s interests are, hobbies, pleasures and worries. In general and in the times of the pandemic. Covid, the lockdown and its related rules have affected us all. I am curious of what memories remain, what has changed and what has gone back to what we call ‘normal’.

People can sign and draw on the table cloth along the way. I then embroider the texts and images as I walk along all the way to the seaports on the North Sea coast. Together we hope to develop a rich tapestry of ideas and thoughts that might help us develop this memorial for the widest geographic and demographic range of people in Aberdeenshire.

More on the project and commissioners Green Space Scotland and Live Life Aberdeenshire:

https://www.greenspacescotland.org.uk/remembering-together

https://www.livelifeaberdeenshire.org.uk/arts/covid-memorial/

Remembering Together: Aberdeenshire has been commissioned by Greenspace Scotland in partnership with Live Life Aberdeenshire's Cultural Services. It is funded by the Scottish Government.