Next up at Fidra Fine Art is a solo exhibition of work by the incredibly talented Dominique Cameron. Following on from successful walks around Dundee and Montrose, Dominique returns to Leith where she lived for a significant part of her life. Being a port, Leith is a place where many journeys start and finish. For Dominique it was where she lived when she started out as a student, where she got married and where she had her children. Returning 20 years later, Dominique chronicles her thoughts and observations of her “Leith Walks” through her uniquely lyrical drawing, painting, writing and film.
Artist Statement
I am an artist that walks and draws. I draw lines on maps and walk those routes observing, describing and fictionalising what I find. It’s an exploration of place. Because of the fixed parameter of the line I must interpret only what’s on that line, in turn trying to find the interest in whatever is there. That is part of the challenge to look at forgotten, overlooked parts of the city. I chose the project in Leith because I stayed here, off Ferry Road. It’s where I lived when I was at college, where I got married, at the registry office round the corner from our flat and where my two children were born. Leith is part of my history and I wanted to retrace my steps, to see if Leith had changed in the years I had been away. I found it changed, but then again, not. The people are as they were – generous, chatty and funny, and the streets that took me past the flats where we lived are the same. I wrote about my walks too, my encounters with Leithers and the stories they told me. Some of these have been compiled in a book with the drawings and paintings of Ferry Road, Great Junction street, The Fit o’ the walk, Tolbooth Wynd, Constitution Street, Bernard Street and down at the docks that mark the end point of the walk.
Here is one of my entries from a walk early on in the project
“Thick, smirry, wet rain. A man in mustard trousers and a trilby cycles past, a small child in pink wellies whizzes on her scooter. I sit outside the library looking at the enormous mural painted on the gable end wall of the tenement next door. It tells the story of Leith, its industries, its activism, its story of welcoming new communities. It has been here as long as I can remember. Boys with dogs, boys with phones. A sofa put out for the rubbish. ‘Yes’ independence posters in flats opposite, the blue fading but not the desire. Anoraks and parkas, pigeons and buses. My feet are getting wet, daft to be wearing sandals on a day like today. The leaves are already starting to fall. The end of summer.”
I wanted to tell my own story of Leith through these words and images. They will come together as an exhibition with Fidra Fine Art from 4th August through to 3rd September. The gallery is open 12-5pm Saturdays and Sundays but drop-ins and appointments are very welcome midweek. There will be a Preview with refreshments on Friday 4th August from 6-8pm.
We hope you can make it along.
