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Caithness artist and jeweller Lindsey Gallacher welcomed visitors to Thurso Art Gallery to view her solo exhibition ‘More Than A Half-Life’.
Lindsey is a visual artist and craftsperson working across multiple art forms including drawing, jewellery and stone-cutting. She graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2000 with a BA 1st class honours in Design and Applied Arts majoring in jewellery and silversmithing.
Working almost continuously since then as a studio jeweller, Lindsey moved back to her home town of Thurso in 2014. Since then, Lindsey has drawn inspiration for both jewellery making and artwork from the local surroundings, in particular Caithness flagstone, both as a material and as subject matter.
More Than a Half-Life explores the unique and specific social and geographic context of the Dounreay nuclear plant, which is currently being decommissioned. In January 2024, Lindsey began her role as the More Than a Half-Life artist in residence with Lyth Arts Centre. As a starting point to this project, Lindsey initiated conversations with Dounreay employees past and present focusing on the daily journey between home and work.
Through storytelling, discussion and visual memories, participants recollected familiar landmarks and markers on the repetitive journey to and from work. This exhibition shows the artwork that was created in response to these conversations.
Lindsey said she’s “hopeful that the subject matter of decommissioning Dounreay doesn’t deter people” from making a visit.
She added: “I’ve deliberately created a variety of artworks that are beautiful to look at, relevant to the local community and will make you think a bit more about Dounreay. I’m also keen to encourage those who don’t normally attend such events to come and enjoy this excellent local facility.”
This residency forms part of the University of Keele’s ‘More Than a Half-Life: Communities, Heritage and Decommissioning research project’ (led by researcher Linda Ross) and will provide creative research and data collection, including a visual record of the artistic process to inform overall findings.
The exhibition will be open from Saturday, June 1 to Saturday, June 22 with specific opening times as follows: Mon-Wed (3pm-6pm); Thu (10am-1pm); Fri (4pm-8pm); and Sat (10am-1pm).
The gallery is situated in the back of the town’s library on Davidson’s Lane.