Ian Hamilton Finlay Overview
Ian Hamilton Finlay was a Scottish poet, artist, writer and gardener. Finlay sadly passed away in 2006 at the age of 81 but was still producing work until the day he died. It could be argued that Finlay’s most famous work was Little Sparta. The name for the garden came from Edinburgh’s nickname, the ‘Athens of the North’. The garden encompassed most of Finlay’s works such as his poetry in the form of stone carvings, sculptures as well as two temples. In total the garden houses 275 artworks by the artist which he made on his own but also in collaboration with multiple craftsmen and women.
This selection of Finlay’s work displayed in this exhibition focuses on the maritime theme within his work. The title of the exhibition was taken from one of Finlay’s earliest artworks in the show titled Marine (1968), this exhibition held at the City Art Centre focuses on the maritime theme within his work. Finlay’s love for the sea, boats and all things ship related provided a constant source of inspiration through his life as an artist as the subject matter never tried out as time went passed.
Ships Bells 2002
Finlay’s passion for writing and carving provided a great opportunity when working alongside John Andrew to create ‘Ships Bells – Iroko Wrap-Around – Strake’ 2002. The collaborative pair picked out a few minimal phrases such as a combination of numbers and letters chosen carefully similar to morse code with a cryptic meaning.
The artwork is a culmination of 8 bells with 4 on each wall. The silence is somewhat calming in contrast to the potential racket that the installation could cause if the viewers could interact with the artwork.
