Page 53 - Art First: Helen MacAlister: At the Foot o’ Yon Excellin’ Brae
P. 53

Glen Roy, parallel roads                  Parallel roads, shorelines of an ice-dammed lake (in this
             oil on linen, 2009, 148 x 210cm           case Glen Roy). The result of a period of glacier readvance
                                                       also known as Loch Lomond Stadial. The work is
             ‘Bastard’ affairs                         metaphorically giving location to ‘bilingualism’ – framing the
             oil on linen, 2009, 42 x 59.4cm           running of the Gaelic and the Scots line. A parallel implicit
                                                       in the landscape.
                                                              Alec Finlay on Hamish Henderson: “He took
                                                       delight in demonstrating that all languages are, as Gavin
                                                       Douglas has it, ‘bastard’ affairs.” 1

                                                       1  Alias MacAlias  - Hamish Henderson; edited by Alec Finlay, xxv1
                                                       Painting = © ‘Original image courtesy of British Geological Survey’
































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