I am excited to be starting a new project this January MAERL: an art science research and development project, the seed of which I’ve had in mind for many years and has arisen out of my passion for seaweed and coastal ecology.
Maerl, is a coral-like seaweed that grows on the seabed of Celtic inshore waters and is massively important to our marine ecosystems, unfortunately it is rarely seen and is under threat.
With the support of an award from Creative Scotland, I am now looking into the life story of Maerl, to understand its crucial environmental value above and below the ocean surface.
I will be envisaging and testing out cross-art-form and performative ways to tell Maerl’s story, in an accessible way. To help me do this I am delighted to have project support of Maerl expert and Professor of Marine Biology, Jason Hall-Spencer, Producer, Mahri Reilly & Theatre Mentors, SURGE
My aim is for this R&D to result in a pre-production treatment, with a view to a future performative/installation production. I want the end MAERL production to be accessible to all and excite people to care about Maerl and ocean sustainability.
Please follow my Maerl research and development journey over the next 6 months with regular image updates on Instagram @juliabartonartist
Thanks to funding from Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals
Strong winds and high tides battering the shorelines of the North-West Highlands this October have washed up a host of small pebbles to ponder. Encrusted with the hard chalky forms of the shells of filter-feeding marine organisms the surfaces of these pebbles appear richly decorated.
Anchored shells, protective living spaces for small organisms with static lifestyles, are located predominantly in the turbulent littoral zones and are built by the larval stages of organisms to anchor themselves to rocks, concrete seawalls, boats, marine litter, and even seaweeds.
Secreting calcium rich substances they model tiny, calcified homes, in conical, tube and spiral forms. Some, including barnacles, have ‘trap doors’ that close at low tide for protection against predation and water loss.
Acorn barnacle colonies can cover and change the appearance and surface texture of hundreds and even thousands of square metres of the most exposed shoreline rocks.
For several days I have observed three annelid worms (RHS image) extending their fan-shaped arrangement of tentacles out of their tubes to filter the water to feed.
There are many variations of marine ‘calcified houses’. One of the annelid worms makes longitudinal structures with a top ridge; the shell is up to 20mm in length, roughly triangular in cross section and the segmented worm lives within the inner circular tube.
Magnifying collected seaweed samples on my observation table revealed the tiny calcified spiral shells of the filter feeder Spirorbis spirorbis. Each sinistrally coiled tube is only 2mm in diameter, appearing as tiny white specks on the fronds of wracks, which I have often missed. I now see them as perfect examples of calcified shelters, bespoke marine homes demanding closer inspection and study. Sculpturally inspiring.
Inspired by coastal ecology and sustainability and lucky enough to live and work on Scotland’s NW Highland coast, most of the materials I work with are collected from the shores, between the low and high tide lines the ‘littoral zone’
Printmaking plays a central part in my visual art practice. It is integral and essential to my understanding of the materials I find and use, whether natural or man-made.
My choice of printing techniques is inspired by the nature of the material and location I am working in. When on the road, sometimes simple ink pad pressings are useful to quickly record detailed plant forms and seaweed samples. I also employ a manual pasta roller machine, for its calibrated efficiency on tougher grasses and seed pods.
Sedge grass print
These more immediate printing methods often serve as a way to get to know my natural materials whether depicting plant forms or marine algae, but most of my detailed botanical printmaking takes place in my studio on my roller press.
Pelvetia canaliculata
In order to print from contrasting man-made materials such as marine plastic, for example in my LOST exhibition, repeated adjustments to the plates are required to achieve the desired detail. The type of polymer of each plastic item dictates whether I use a hydraulic press, or a roller press. For example creating prints from plastic drinks bottles required pre-cutting and flattening under my van wheels before printing.
LitterCUBE prints, LOST exhibition, Summerhall Gallery, Edinburgh Science Festival2023
This summer I am experimenting printing from a series of seaweed weaving’s made with textile artist friends Marcia Weiss and Ed Thomas.
I will be teaching a botanical printmaking workshop in Dorset September 30 2023 and holding a studio event in November which will also be available to view online. A selection my prints will be on sale at both events.
Bookmark Nature
Saturday, 30 September 2023, 10:00 – 13:00
Studland Village Hall, Studland, Dorset, BH19 3AE UK
My collection of #LitterCUBES are now taking their place at Summerhall Gallery’s #INTERLINKED exhibition curated by ASCUS Arts and Science for the #EdSciFest
LOST is inhabiting Summerhalls War Memorial Gallery, an appropriate almost cube shaped space, with glass wall cabinets, to display the smallest fragile #LitterCUBES and oil filled glass flask, plus a vitrine enabling me, for the first time, to display samples of the construction processes and ‘printing plates’ made with marine litter items. This enabled me to more fully share the story of making the #LitterCUBES at my opening exhibition talk and to highlight the significance of calculating the fossil fuel energy held within the #LitterCUBES, which equates to 258.97 litres of oil.
Science Festivals are designed to inspire people to explore thought provoking topics in science and the Edinburgh Science Festival is certainly providing that, with both hands on experiences in labs and in galleries. I am delighted to be one of four artists in #INTERLINKED at Summerhall. We are all engaging with science and scientists in very different ways, I myself working with scientist John McIntyre who has helped make the calculation of Embodied Energy content [EEc]of plastic accessible, for my LOST public engagement project, while fellow exhibiting artists Scott Hunter (pic RHS above), Agatha Smith, and Kexin Liu (pic centre above) have been literally working in the ASCUS labs using and changing scientific processes. This exhibition carries on beyond the Festival until May 15.
In another part of the Festival, at the Customs House Gallery (Leith), Glacial Narratives, by 8 artists are taking place in the form of powerful film projections by Adam Sebire with paintings and audioscapes by Andra Black, Elizabeth Bourne,Martin Disley, Mettje Hunnerman, Peter Neinow, Mary Walters and the Tinderbox Collective sharing their understanding of #climatechange. If you are in Edinburgh before the exhibition closes this weekend (11am-6pm until 16th April).
Follow the links to Adam and Mary’s sites to see many more Glacial Narrative images and films on line.
As the winter storms ravage the shorelines, I am enjoying re-visiting images of seaweed specimens in my installation at the Isle Martin Seaweed Festive 2021. The 12 glass tanks provided perfect viewing for close inspection.
I braved the wild west coast weather to collect a new sample of wrack (see below). Local marine scientist Ailsa McLellan has identified the pink gelatinous ‘sacks’ colonising the wrack as Baked bean ascidian, Dendrodoa grossulariape a type of sea squirt.
As my practice has been entangled with both marine plastics and marine algae for the last decade, I have been following with interest the developments of scientists, product designers and artists making bioplastics from seaweed around the world. From drinks pods that dissolve in the mouth used for runners at the 2019 London Marathon, to artists researching the use of seaweed biopolymers to make furniture.
Fascinated by the idea of marine algae providing the prime ingredient for a truly bio-degradable material that might help us move away from fossil fuel plastics, I decided to investigate making seaweed bio-plastic from the simple basic ingredients of seaweed, starch, water and glycerine.
It has been an intriguing and fun, if messy, process which has taken place across the year in my kitchen and in tents on shorelines with coastal community members in Cromarty and Poolewe during my World Ocean Day events, with the support of Fiona McKenzie (Aberdeen Science Centre) and The Pebble Trust.
I am now collating the polymer samples made using seven common seaweeds collected on our Highland shorelines and cataloguing our recipes. While our recipe notation was definitely a little sketchy the samples are intriguing, from the strong slightly flexible (brown) wrack recipe to the more translucent flexible recipes made from kelp (Oarwrack) and Himanthalia elongata (sea spaghetti)
I am now pondering how I might use this material – stretching and sewing it together perhaps?
I am hoping that these samples, along with my reference notes and observations will inspire more Highland Seaweed Bioplastic experimenting events. Please leave a message in the reply box below or email me if you are interested in joining me in future seaweed bioplastic events. And do get in touch if you have any funding ideas for events.
Taking up a great invitation to show my Climate Action exhibition L O S T as a part of the Portobello ArtWalk 2022 this month, I had the opportunity to install my #LitterCUBES within the historic Portobello Brick Kiln, set back from the seafront and the sandy beach where I’ve collected hundreds of washed up cotton bud-sticks, that went into the making of two of the smallest#LitterCUBES.
Portobello Brick Kilns A fascinating venue whose form provided a link to the hundreds of drinks bottles in 3 of the largest #LitterCUBES
Working in alternative spaces such as the kiln, rather than in a gallery is always exciting and challenging.
The kiln’s small 5m diameter floor space was a logistic challenge in which to show the 18 CUBES, a projection screen and information. My chosen plan had #LitterCUBE 1 (drinks bottles) positioned in the centre of the kiln, with the other 7 largest CUBES set behind this CUBE around the wall directly behind it, ensuring space for visitors to move around the kiln.
The screen, being set above these CUBES and opposite the entrance, allowed passers-by to glimpse a view of the work and to cast a little light onto the CUBES.
By far the largest challenge was how to light the work well, in a space off-grid, that only has two restricted natural light sources, the chimney and doorway.
The chimney channelled a limited amount of light into the centre within a very small radius. The light, entering through the doorway, was extremely variable during the day. Often the space was very dark in the morning and then blasted with light in the early afternoon if the sun was bright.
I originally planned to use low wattage spot lights running off a 12v battery, but testing out the spots, the light gain was limited and the cabling was distracting and couldn’t be hidden.
After much discussion with the ArtWalk team who had seen work in the kiln before, I decided to embrace the low light, but to supplement it at significant points, using photographic lights and torches to highlight the work. Part of the lighting solution also came from the visitors using their phone torches, plus my LED solar and wind-up torches. This minimal battery-operated lighting worked amazingly well and kept the very special atmosphere of the kiln as a part of the visitors’ experience.
Wonderfully, over 200 people visited the exhibition over the two event days, 20 people managed to fit into the kiln to hear me sharing the journey of making the #LitterCUBES, and calculating the energy value held within the 18 #LitterCUBES using the ‘Embodied Energy content’ formula – 250 litres of oil. We went on to discuss how we are now (at last) getting more conscious of the importance and need to take #ClimateActions. Primarily to reduce the energy we use and how to do this we need to quantify the amount of energy that we use and waste. Also, our discussion made me want to try calculating the energy used in showing this collection of work over the 2 days, especially given the exhibition aim to show the energy LOST in plastic waste.
It is a calculation, which wasn’t feasible when showing the work in the large arts centre of Eden Court, Inverness, but it is a question that I am increasingly conscious and concerned about. With the help of friend and scientist John McIntyre we have calculated the Energy used in the Kiln during the 2day event to be: Total energy use 0.326 kWh
Below is our simple energy sum, with each item running for a total of 12hours
Mini projector used over 2 days 150 Wh
Photographic lights used over 2 days 150 Wh
LED torches (1) used 6 AA batteries in two days. So 6 x 3.12 = 18.72 Wh
LED torches (3) used 9 AAA batteries in two days. So6 x 1.2 = 7.2 Wh Total Watt Hours (Wh) used 150 + 150 + 18.72 + 7.2 = 326 Wh
Total 0.362 KWh
The equivalent of boiling just over 3.5 litres of water in an electric kettle.
The LOST exhibition is ready to be shown on or Off-Grid. Please help keep the #ClimateAction conversation going by sharing this post and getting in touch with any ideas of where LOST could be shown on or Off-Grid. I am happy to give talks about the project and run related events.
Many thanks for the support of Rosy Naylor, ArtWalk curator, additional photographs from Susan Grant and Ellie J McMasterand photo-editing by Veronica Vossen.
As the UK has been coping with wild fires, heat strokes and transport disruption this week as a result of the hottest days ever recorded, the link to the Climate Crisis is at last being acknowledged over 30 years on from scientists’ early warnings. The need for us to take action on the climate must surely be on everyone’s minds.
RECYCLE: World Environment Day Event, Exhibition talk (photo credit Neville Rigby)
The 18 #LitterCUBES contained a collective energy value of over 250 litres of oil, and this was the starting point for impassioned presentations from Julien Moreau and Andy MacVicar from Plastic Recycling Projects in the Highlands, both highlighting the need to reduce the vast quantities of waste plastic we are generating and exporting across the world. They argued for working together to recycle our plastic in a decentralised way, close to the source (towns /beaches) to make products needed locally, which would in turn save energy and generate jobs.
On World Environment Day in June, (another very hot day) 40 people came together at my LOST exhibition at Eden Court, Inverness to see evidence of Plastic Waste (in this case marine Plastic Litter), one factor contributing to the #ClimateCrisis.
Event participants came up with masses of ideas for items which could be made out of recycled waste plastic including building materials, benches, planters, play equipment, seats, agricultural/garden materials and equipment and which in turn would contribute to creating a Highland Circular Economy.
Our final talk was by scientist John McIntyre, who gave a hard-hitting global overview on our Climate Crisis and the link to our energy consumption urging us to do less and use less! This proved a great starter to our brainstorming session. Event participants and visitors to the exhibition shared the Climate Actions they are taking and intend to take, the most common being recycling, using shared transport, growing food, buying more carefully e.g. second hand, recycled and locally produced goods.
A plea for more opportunities to share information about energy use and sustainable environment options was repeated and calls for each of us to tackle companies/governments and protest!
Our Ocean Plastic Skipping ropes on display,collaboratively made by Plastic@Bay, GreenHive and myself, ticked many of these boxes and proved a good example of the process of recycling plastics and a great break out opportunity for the afternoon and at the following World Ocean Day Events which took place on the Cromarty and Poolewe shorelines. During the events over 3,000 jumps were made – proving the draw that simple #Greenfitness activities can have and the fun that can be had without expending fossil fuels! read more
The MAKE – World Ocean Day events proved a great success with enthusiasm from the local Cromarty and Poolewe communities, including the Primary schools. The workshops were run by myself and Fiona McKenzie (Aberdeen Science Centre ) and began with thinking about the importance of the Oceans and reasons for looking after ocean environments and how Bio-plastics might help reduce the problem of Marine Plastic Litter.
Our central activity was a BIG SEAWEED EXPERIMENT with over 40 people joining in to mix and cook various types of seaweeds, setting agents (starch), plasticiser (glycerine/honey), and fibres such as wool, grasses, straw and linen to make a fascinating array of bio-plastic samples (results to follow on Instagram).
It was an extremely ambitious event, very messy and at times wet and cold, but it was great fun with observational seaweed activities – using microscopes and chrome books in the tent-labs
Head teacher Natalie White said that the “M A K E workshop was a really great piece of partnership work. The children really enjoyed experimenting making seaweed plastic and were inspired to make a brilliant video about the workshop.”
I feel the LOST #ClimateAction project is keeping the #COP26 #ClimateCrisis story moving forward here in the Highlands. In total over 300 people visited the exhibition and nearly 100 attended the LOST events, many of whom left positive responses for Art as a way of encouraging Activism.
Many new connections have been made and ideas set in motion for follow up events both here and further afield. Please get in touch if you know of any venues and funding that would help me tour the work.
Looped exhibition film projection-the dripping-away of the energy embodied in the 18 #LitterCUBES
The LOST exhibition artworks were made with the kind support of individuals through Crowd Funding, Project donations from Trusts: Schiehallion Group, Rag, JA Clerk, Ullapool Harbour Trust, Coigach & Assynt Living Landscape Partnership, North Light Arts, Easthaven Together. Company donations: Eyemouth Marine, Neighbourly TK Max, John Lawrie Group. In-Kind donations: Dunbar Harbour Trust, Ullapool Harbour Trust, Eyemouth Harbour Trust, Eyemouth Hippodrome, SPLASH, Shetland Marine College, JJ Jamieson, Shetland Museum & Archives, The Swan Trust, An Talla Solais, North Link Ferries. Grants: Arts & Business Grant (Shetland), Shetland Council.
Proud to be showing my LOST – Climate Action exhibition in the amazing Eden Court, Memorial Chapel, in Inverness. A collection of 18 #LitterCUBES, with film & prints to carry the Climate Crisis story on from COP26. The show is open everyday 10am-10pm. Please share and join in the Climate Action discussion by leaving a comment/question on @juliabartonartist or below.
Appreciative first comments:
‘Great Appropriate title‘. K Rann ‘I really liked the simplicity, which made the message clear-a good feel to the whole space’ J MacIntyre ‘The show is a fantastically vivid representation of the issue‘. C Drake ‘Great integrity to this exhibition‘ L Strachen ‘Your exhibition is so powerful – bloody well done!’ F Mackenzie
I am very pleased to be collaborating with Eden Court, Inverness with my new project, LOST. An immersive Climate Action Exhibition showing in the amazing space of the Memorial Chapel at Eden Court, Sunday May 15 – Sunday June 12 2022.
Eden Court and I are both keen that the exhibition and accompanying events will continue the COP26 #ClimateCrisis story in the Highlands. LOST aims to show how plastic pollution directly contributes to the Climate Crisis. The work will highlight the amount of lost energy that plastic marine litter represents and explain the unseen and often misunderstood links to fossil fuels.
RECYCLE:This Climate Action event will include an exhibition talk, explaining the recyclability of types of single use plastic and a presentation by Julien Moreau from Plastic@Bay, Durness will share their innovative idea for Decentralised Community Recycling in the Highlands.
Andy MacVicar from GreenHive, Nairn, will explain the useful recycle-ability of different types of single use plastics.
We will make a map of where each single use plastic items are likely to locate and concentrate in the world. Participants will be able to suggest and identify any products we need in the Highlands, that could be made from recycled plastic. Booking:
World Ocean Day Event: Wednesday June 8 Cromarty Cinema Beach 4-6pm
MAKE: My newest work explores the potential of making alternative polymer materials from sustainable seaweed. I will be leading an exciting hands-on workshop on the beach, encouraging people to experiment making bio-plastics from seaweed.
Events are free and everyone is welcome. For more information, booking and access details visit https://eden-court.co.uk/
The World Environment Day, Climate Action event, RECYCLE is being supported through the Green Tease events series and network run by Creative Carbon Scotland. Find out more here: https://www.creativecarbonscotland.com/project/green-tease/
The exhibition and events are gratefully being supported by The Pebble Trust & Eden Court.
The LOST exhibition artworks were made with the kind support of individuals through Crowd Funding Project donations from Trusts: Schiehallion Group, Rag, JA Clerk, Ullapool Harbour Trust, Coigach & Assynt Living Landscape Partnership, North Light Arts, Easthaven Together. Company donations: Eyemouth Marine, Neighbourly TK Max, John Lawrie Group. In-Kind donations: Dunbar Harbour Trust, Ullapool Harbour Trust, Eyemouth Harbour Trust, Eyemouth Hippodrome, SPLASH, Shetland Marine College, JJ Jamieson, Shetland Museum & Archives, The Swan Trust, An Talla Solais, North Link Ferries. Grants: Arts & Business Grant (Shetland), Shetland Council.
littoral: sci-art project 