This project was conceived by photographer Mark Cator as the first of a yearly residency programme, where a group of creatives, environmentalists and scientists would spend time sailing together on the boat Excelsior and exploring locations in the North Atlantic. This first residency took place on the dramatic archipelago of The Faroe Islands over the course of two weeks in May and June 2024.
The project will culminate in a series of exhibitions throughout 2025, where the outcomes of these days of discussion, drawing, experimentation and performance will be presented to the public.
My time was spent marvelling at the geology of these islands – they are not so far north of Scotland, yet their appearance is so alien when compared with the far North and West of Scotland. My recent works in Scotland have focussed on those parts of geology exposed by the action of the sea, and one challenge I found here was the difficulty in accessing the coast – the lack of dramatic tidal changes due to the Faroes’ position in the middle of the ocean means there are very few beaches, with most geological features dropping directly into the ocean. That made this a rare experience in looking up, and taking a broader view of the whole landscape rather than close, intimate details. My work in the shows will comprise a series of etchings made during these days of observation.
