A new exhibition exploring canals, lochs, rivers, and seas has opened at the Maid of the Loch in Balloch.
The Life Aquatic was curated by Charli Summers, programme manager of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company, and opened last weekend.
A specially selected group of artists ranging from Scottish masters and contemporaries to new graduates and local makers were invited to explore the theme of water.
A private viewing prior to the official opening was well attended, with invited artists including the late James Watt RGI, Glasgow-based painter Peter Thomson, ceramicist Anne Morrison and Arran-based sculptor Tim Pomeroy.
The Royal Yacht Britannia kindly loaned their magnificent painting of their vessel by James Watt RGI and it takes centre stage in the exhibition.
Curator Charli said: “Our waters are a source of opportunity as well as peril, driving evolution, inspiring human creativity and innovation and encouraging engagement with the wider world.
“The exhibition challenges artists to consider the big issues affecting aspects of change, such as declining fishing communities or the effects of marine pollution or the climate crisis.
“Locally or globally, The Life Aquatic will prompt old and create new memories, and the exhibition aims to enthuse artists and viewers and to enrich our maritime heritage.
“The exhibition couldn’t have gone ahead without funding from a generous unnamed foundation who are passionate about arts and wellbeing.”
Members of Jean’s Bothy, a mental health and wellbeing hub in Helensburgh were invited to respond to the theme and members have their work on display on board PS Maid of the Loch. The exhibition has a strong emphasis on drawing and painting as well as traditional arts and crafts.
One of those to attend and have her work displayed was Ann Greer from Helensburgh.
Ann told the Lennox: “I was excited that my photograph and poem, both with same name Beachcomber, would be displayed together in The Life Aquatic Exhibition.
“I wrote the poem, which was published in Poetry Scotland 20 years ago, about things I found living beside lochs, rivers and the sea.
“I took the photo of a huge tyre I found standing upright at Helensburgh beach when walking our dog last year.
“I waited till the sea flowed through the circle to capture the waves. It looked like a mandala. It made me think about what ends up in the sea that shouldn’t be there and the litter we find, when my family and I go wild swimming in Loch Lomond. This fits with the environmental theme.
“This exhibition is unique because it’s on the Maid of the Loch and when I wrote about ‘Process’ for the third piece in my display, I remembered travelling on different boats for leisure and work (both paid and unpaid) in the area.
“One example is when a group of WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) Argyll and Isles (I co-founded seven years ago), sailed from Helensburgh, via Dunoon, to Rothesay on the Waverley Paddle Steamer for a packed rally, which 1950s women and Argyll and Bute politicians spoke at.
“It was just like how the suffragettes and suffragists sailed ‘Doon the Watter’ to speak to crowds, who flocked to the Isle of Bute, in the past. I also went on various boat trips with women from Refuge, where I worked for over 20 years.
“I facilitate wellbeing through a writing group in Jean’s Bothy Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub, in Helensburgh.
“A book of our writing, photographs and art called Peace of Mind sold out within days, last month, and is being reprinted because organisations like the NHS have ordered copies.”
The exhibition continues until later October. Entry is priced at £4 most works are for sale with 20 percent of the proceeds going towards the restoration of PS Maid of the Loch.
