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By Alastair HamiltonSeptember 18th 2025
Alastair Hamilton

In a remarkable exhibition in Lerwick, inspired by Shetland’s crofting heritage, artist Helen E Acklam explores the stories of Shetland’s women and the crofting communities they helped sustain. The works in Mootie’s Hoos come in many different forms and use a range of materials. Richly coloured and strikingly textured, they have won many admirers.

Helen explains that the works stem from a residency in Shetland undertaken in 2021. She thought that a theme involving old croft houses would make an interesting project and asked for suggestions on social media; her appeal was quickly answered.

She explains that the project “centres on conversations with an elderly woman about her life in a croft house in North Roe. Her story, one of resilience – crofting and knitting while her husband was away fishing - echoes the experience of many women on the island. Their quiet strength is woven through this body of work.”

Helen Acklam discusses one of her paintings with a visitor at the opening evening. Kirstie Clubb/Shaw Marketing/Shetland Museum & Archives

Not so long ago, it was normal for women to manage the croft and men to go to sea, usually to fish. However, many Shetland men served in the merchant navy or Royal Navy, involving longer absences from home. Mootie’s Hoos focuses on the deep connections between landscape, memory and history, capturing the essence of that generation of Shetlanders.

Mootie's Hoos Helen E Acklam/Shetland Museum and Archives

Helen adds: “Mootie’s Hoos is more than just an artistic collection, it is a tribute to the resilience, resourcefulness and quiet strength of island life, past and present. My work is based on landscape and its place in history, people and events. Through materials found, made or collected, I aim to bring memory and history together to reflect the powerful relationship between people and place.”

There's no question that she has succeeded.

She expresses her theme in many different ways; as well as the paintings, which use mixed media, there are blocks, concertina cards, wooden boxes containing found objects, and more. All of them evoke life and work on the croft.

Three of Helen Acklam's paintings. Helen Acklam/Alastair Hamilton

The paintings are presented in a beguiling range of colours and tones, but it’s perhaps the textural details that elicit the greatest surprise and delight. Those corrugated-iron roofs are three-dimensional, and as the viewer moves around the painting, there are subtle shifts in the way the light strikes them, making the structures seem to come alive. One image incorporates lacework. These – like all the other pieces – are stunningly well-executed.

Helen continues:

“My practice is rooted in a deep interest in landscape: its history, its people, and the traces of life once lived. I explore how memory and place intersect, using research, storytelling and found materials to uncover and share the hidden narratives of a place.”

Those materials include peat, sand, stone, textiles, wallpaper and vintage maps, each offering a direct and tactile link to the land. These are combined in textured paintings, collage and assemblage to create visual records of memory and experience. Boxes often hold symbolic objects discovered on site, acting as vessels of place and time.

Block images and sketchbooks form part of the display. Helen Acklam/Alastair Hamilton

The exhibition also includes several sketch books and these are central to Helen’s creative process. “They are spaces for research, experimentation, writing and reflection. Photography and film also play a role in recording the landscapes and details that inform the work.”

The museum’s exhibitions officer, Karen Clubb said: “This exhibition will appeal to both Shetlanders and visitors alike. The iconic croft house image is instantly recognisable and emotionally resonant, reflecting a way of life that is central to Shetland’s heritage. The unique use of found and recycled materials, such wallpaper from derelict cottages, plaster and textiles, connects deeply to our past. There’s a real beauty in the fragments of what was once thrown away or forgotten.”

One of the three-dimensional exhibits, 'She wove the sun, moon and stars'. Helen Acklam/Alastair Hamilton

Originally from Yorkshire, Helen now lives in south-west Scotland. After a long career in the NHS, she graduated from the University of Cumbria with FDA Drawing in 2012. Her work is exhibited in galleries in the UK and Ireland, features in private collections around the world and can be seen on her website, through which anyone wishing to buy or commission work can contact her.

All works are available for sale through the Own Art Scheme, allowing buyers to spread the cost over ten interest-free monthly instalments. To complement the exhibition, cards and a calendar featuring many of the works are available from the museum shop and online.

A calendar and cards have been produced to complement the exhibition. Helen Acklam/Shetland Museum and Archives/Alastair Hamilton

At its core, this exhibition is about the quiet imprint of lives on the land – and the powerful connection between people, memory and place. Mootie’s Hoos runs until 12 October and a visit is highly recommended.

Alastair Hamilton

Alastair Hamilton

Alastair Hamilton moved to Shetland in 1976. Until he retired, he worked for Shetland Islands Council, latterly as Head of Planning, and was also involved in economic development.

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