Michelle Echenique
Artist
Sanquhar, Scotland Art Residency
In September 2022, I spent an intense week in the rural village of Sanquhar, Scotland as an artist resident. The residency was designed to engage with place, a practice integral to my process. Using the rural community as a laboratory, our artist group spent a week making artwork and learning about the place, its people, and its history. Our work was exhibited at MERZ Gallery as part of “Mythical Landscape: Secrets of the Vale”, an exhibition investigating a sense of place and that speaks to the rich history and folklore of the region. The artwork will be the subject of a film by David Rushton and used to illustrate a forthcoming, abridged version of William Wilson’s 1904 book, Folk Lore and Genealogies of Uppermost Nithsdale. The exhibition will travel to the Knoxville Museum of Art where it will be on view March 10th to May 28, 2023.
In Memory Of, 12.25" x 10.5"
We were tasked with making a piece responding to one of the folklore stories. I chose “The Ghost of Lady Hebron”. She haunts an area by a tree where she and her son’s remains were found. Though never verified it was undoubtedly foul play, probably the work of her uncle who killed them to take over property she inherited.
Sanquhar Pattern, 24" x 20"
This piece is built upon an old map of the area. The wool gloves are knitted with the Sanquhar pattern design. The orange bits, mimicking the pattern, are cut-up Scottish train tickets, suggesting travel and referencing the ongoing migration out of the village.
Tea Time, 12" x 7.25"
Here I used an empty cat food box, (courtesy of Snowy the art resident cat), old currency with recently deceased Queen Elizabeth's likeness, and illustrations from a paper shopping bag. The cat is looking hungrily at the bird—and maybe the monarchy too.