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'Travellers' for GMB100

Date: 24 May 2022

Time: 00:00

An artwork inspired by George Mackay Brown has been installed on a trail celebrating the life and work of one of Scotland’s most prominent writers, in what has been dubbed ‘George’s end of toon’.

The artwork, commissioned by Orkney Islands Council as part of overall GMB100 activities marking the centenary of the writer’s birth, was erected in the George Mackay Brown Community Garden in Stromness, with the blessing of the Stromness Community Council.

The garden itself forms part of the newly launched GMB trail, a project by Orkney Arts Society aimed at providing an insight into the people and places that shaped and inspired George’s work.

Taking the form of a bench, the installation is designed to offer a place where people can sit and reflect on GMB – in a scenic spot he was known to enjoy himself. The creative duo appointed to develop and deliver the artwork, local writer Gabrielle Barnby and visual artist from central Scotland Orla Stevens, drew on old maritime materials – oars, tillers and boat hooks - kindly donated by the Orkney Historic Boat Society (OHBS). These have been embellished by Orla with words of young people from Kirkwall Grammar School who worked with Gaby exploring themes of friendship, the sea, and travelling which run throughout GMBs work. The artwork also includes original text from several poems within GMB’s final posthumous collection ’Travellers’.