Each summer, the Bonhoga Gallery in Weisdale offers a series of exhibitions featuring the work of artists and makers who either live in Shetland or have a strong connection to the islands. The last of these Summer Showcases features a wonderfully diverse range of work, for sale, by Ellie Duncan, Lisa Hooper, Niela Kalra and Helen Robertson.
Artists and makers practising in Shetland are invariably inspired by the islands’ environment, whether that be the sometimes-dramatic weather, the colours and textures of coast, sea or landscape or the range of wildlife that surrounds us.
Ellie Duncan: Island Ceramics
Ellie Duncan is especially attuned to the sea and its moods, and that’s reflected in the beautiful ceramics she produces. As she explained to Tara Thomson in an article relating to a previous Bonhoga exhibition, she loves to be “beside the sea, but also in it and on it”, and sees her creative craft as a route to live “in tune with nature”. She also captures her surroundings through photography.
The items on display at Bonhoga include plates, bowls and tumblers, all of them lovingly formed on the wheel. The glazes unmistakeably evoke that connection with, and love of, the colours of the sea and coastline, and they’re rendered with a subtlety that repays close examination.
Lisa Hooper
Unlike the other exhibitors, Lisa Hooper doesn’t live in Shetland but, from her base in south-west Scotland, she often travels to the islands. She began to make prints in the 1990s and has been a full-time artist since 2006. Her work has appeared in many exhibitions and publications, and she’s won a number of awards.
The prints she is showing at Bonhoga feature some of Shetland’s most familiar birds, among them terns, gannets, wheatears, oystercatchers and divers. Also prominent are the beautiful and far-travelled red-necked phalaropes that delight summer visitors to the island of Fetlar. These images succeed through their superbly convincing characterisation of the birds and their surroundings. You can find out more about Lisa and her work on her website.
Niela Kalra: Nielanell
Niela Kalra, a former lawyer, has been designing and producing unusual contemporary knitwear since 2008. She moved to Shetland after taking a course in art and textiles at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Elgin. Visiting Shetland at the end of the course, she had been hugely impressed by the textile facilities at the university’s Lerwick campus.
Today, her work is very much at the leading edge of textile design; for example, she translates monochrome photography into half-tone knitwear patterns, but she also makes original and innovative use of colour. All of her pieces are knitted, hand-linked and finished in Shetland using a range of the best yarns. However, as I explain in this article, she also casts in glass – there are examples in this show – and is a printmaker. There’s more information on her own website.
Helen Robertson
The Shetland knitting heritage was very much part of Helen Robertson’s childhood and, today, it continues to inspire her jewellery, textiles and art works, all created in her workshop in the north of Shetland. She, too, finds endless inspiration by the sea and on the beaches, as for example in an intricately-crafted necklace.
The jewellery in this collection is both innovative and elegant. Some of it is ‘knitted’ in finest silver wire, often honouring natural objects – such as the skull of a bird or a skate’s ‘purse’ – and sometimes embracing natural, found material. Helen is particularly drawn to the exquisite Shetland lace; these days, it’s perhaps a less well-known element in the islands’ textile heritage but no less remarkable for that.
Shetland has seen many local artists and makers become established over the years, exercising their skill in (among other disciplines) painting, photography, jewellery, ceramics, leatherwork, furniture, glassmaking and, of course, textiles.
However, the islands have also become home to many others who have moved here, recognising kindred creative spirits and finding a welcome among them. Some come to study on one of the creative courses offered by the University of the Highlands and Islands, which also hosts the Centre for Island Creativity.
If you find inspiration in Shetland’s very special environment, perhaps you might, too!
The exhibition runs until 1 October.
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.