As part of Doors Open Days Mill on the Fleet will open its doors to host an afternoon of performance, music, costume, talks and workshops exploring our relationship to landscape and wildlife. Highlights include an outdoor performance from Oceanallover fusing otherworldly theatre, live music and sculptural costume design inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s landscape paintings and humankind’s relationship to mountains.
2018 marks 150 years since the birth of the founding father of the ‘Glasgow Style’. Oceanallover’s Artistic Director, Alex Rigg, has a long time interest in the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and in particular his lesser known landscape paintings. By the early 1920s, Mackintosh had abandoned his architectural practice entirely and moved to the south of France where he indulged his passion for watercolour landscape painting around the Vermilion coast and river valleys snaking into the high Pyrenees. The starting point for this project can be found in the abstract lines, shapes and cartography that Mackintosh used to communicate the orography of mountains and hillsides.
Orographic is a performance work inspired by radical landscape and in particular inspirational landforms. The term itself was coined to describe the study of the formation and geographic features of mountains. The piece will take direct inspiration from spectacular land masses in Scotland such as Rackwick, Criffel, Cathkin Braes, Merrick, Ben Nevis, Ben Lomond, Arrochar Alps and the Campsie Fells. Thematically Orographic will consider the awe we experience when faced with a mountainous structure and the human desire throughout history to conquer such edifices. Join Oceanallover for a mesmerising promenade performance that blends surreal choreography, sonic invention and carnival couture design.
Accompanying the performances will be conversation with contributors from the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, the Slovak Wildlife Society, and Glasgow University. There will also be a unique opportunity to respond to the sounds of the River Fleet in a workshop that invites you to ‘sing the river’!
Orographic – Emotion and the Land Micro Festival
Mill on the Fleet – Gatehouse of Fleet
Part of Doors Open Day Festival at
Sunday 2nd September – 1pm to 6.15pm
LISTINGS
Sunday 2nd September
Mill on the Fleet – Gatehouse of Fleet
1-3pm: Walk and Oceanallover Performance, from the Mill on the Fleet to Trusty’s Hill
Performance of Orographic on Trusty’s Hill – join us for a unique walk and performance within the landscape. From the Mill to the Iron Age hill fort and back. Please bring stout footwear and waterproofs. Meet at the front of the Mill.
3-3.30pm: A Place for the Eagles – Talk and presentation with Philip Munro from the South of Scotland Golden Eagles Project.
Working in partnership with landowners and the conservation community the South of Scotland Golden Eagles Project aims to protect and increase the numbers of these iconic birds in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. Meet in the Faed Gallery on the first floor.
3.30pm – 4pm: ‘Singing the River’ – Workshop with Darla Eno and Tamsin Wates
Singing the river explores our connection to the more-than-human world. Listening to the sounds of the River Fleet, we will respond with our own sounds and songs and silence. Meet at the front of the building.
4.30-5.30pm: ‘Living with Big Beasties’ – Talk and presentation by Robin Rigg of the Slovak Wildlife Society
Robin has been working with wolves, bears and lynx in Slovakia since moving there from Dumfries over 20 years ago. Here he offers his experience and insights into the complexities of sharing land with large carnivores. Meet in the Faed Gallery on the first floor.
5.30-615pm: Orographic at the Mill on the Fleet
Oceanallover will present their latest performance project Orographic in the grounds of the Mill.
Facebook: @oceanallover @feralartprojects
Twitter: @oceanallover @FERAL_Arts
Web: www.oceanallover.co.uk | www.feralartprojects.com
