On the 24th June 2016 I made this textile sketch ‘Haud Oan’.
It was my immediate response to the results of the EU referendum which signalled the UK's exit from the EU and an image which, I found, summed up the feelings of many.
This little sketch made quite an impact, being shared widely on social media and even making it into a national newspaper.
In 2017 Professor Claire Squires, Director of the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication at the University of Stirling, wrote a piece called ‘Haud Oan to Europe’, which was inspired by my artwork, for a book looking at the effects of the Brexit vote on the UK’s cultural sector and its agents.
(A photograph of the piece is published in the book “It’s not just the economy, stupid! Brexit and the Cultural Sector” published and distributed by the Centre for British Studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin and the Literary Field Kaleidoscope.)
In the weeks and months following I, along with the rest of the world, waited to hear what 'Brexit' means. Turns out Brexit means... well, Brexit. (great, glad that's been cleared up). I know I'm not alone in thinking Brexit means... everything I hoped it wouldn't, but feared it would be.
It seems to me that the signs of divergence between Scotland and the rest of the UK are only becoming more stark.
From the small sketch made on that frantic day, when we couldn’t quite believe what was happening, came the finished larger scale work “Haud Oan’. The title is open to interpretation, from initial shock and surprise, fear and unsettled feelings, to a rally cry or call for patience.
Maps usually provide factual information, the coloured map I referenced in the sketch provides factual information about how the majority of people in each area of the country voted, so how can you map a feeling? As I cut the intricate coast line of the British Isles from the rich green Harris Tweed, I considered this.
As I stitched the lengths of 'greige' wool through the coastline of the UK and pulled it back through into Westminster, a swirling vortex appeared. Warm, varied and vibrant colours of wool are stitched from Scotland. They come together, dynamic, reaching out, welcoming and haudin' oan.
My partner, Sam Kilday, wrote the following poem to accompany the piece.
This land
Abound with shades and hues,
kaleidoscopic,
polychromatic.
But a tilt shift,
a definite rift.
Colour draining away.
Inward, dark,
and grey.
Look up without superiority.
Vibrance and warmth.
Welcoming. Diversity.
A depth of palette.
And richer for it.