13 months

13 months

4th June 2022 

I placed a piece of hand woven cloth (Harris wool and wool/acrylic) on the croft in Quidinish, Harris. There is a derelict building right by the shore where I decided to place it. There is no roof so the cloth was vulnerable to the Outer Hebrides elements - rain, wind, sun.

Before placing it on the wall, I washed it in the nearby peaty stream.

To keep it secure I placed it under a block of gneiss - the local rock. This rock was already there and was part of the derelict building.

Beyond the wall you can see the saltmarsh - the tide was out.

The colours were bright and bold and the cloth felt soft.

28th September 2022

Four months later I found the cloth slightly faded and the tassels had twisted. No longer flat against the wall, it had developed a curl along one side. Probably from the wind.

 

On the 30th September the weather had been wet and windy, so the cloth appeared darker and was distorted.

2nd February 2023

Another 4 months later I returned again. The colours had been leached out by the winter rain and snow and it felt harsher and tougher.

You can just see the landscape behind with it's winter colours - russet, brown, grey.

24th June 2023

Another 4/5 months later and the cloth had taken on the colours of the rock - the different lichens matched the faded colours of the altered cloth. The Outer Hebrides had an unusually dry, sunny spell in May and June that scorched and dried out the cloth.

The exposed side was rough to the touch whilst the underside was softer and the colours brighter.

                                                         28th June 2023 - Removal Day

The landscape had it's summer colours again - luscious green. The cloth had been outside for over a year and had changed.

Colours faded and cloth battered and weathered after 13 months outside in the extreme island conditions.

The tide was out and the cloth was removed.

Before/After