The Space, Rousay, Orkney—Saturday 25 October, 2-4pm

The Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Orkney—Tuesday 28 October, 7-9pm

Admission is free. Booking required. Email info@pierartscentre.com Tel 01856 850209

Celebrating the Centenary of the birth of Ian Hamilton Finlay (28 October 1925-27 March 2006)

The Boat in the Writing Room tells the story of an overlooked but transformational phase in the early career of the renowned Scottish poet, artist and landscape designer Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006).
running time 55 minutes

The Scottish poet, artist and gardener Ian Hamilton Finlay lived in a number of rural locations around Scotland. in 1966 he moved permanently to Stonypath in the Pentland Hills which became, in time, the world-renowned garden Little Sparta.  For a few months in the mid-1950s Finlay lived and worked in the Sourin district of Rousay, and although he only returned to Orkney once more the island and its maritime setting continued to be threaded through many of his sculptural and published works.

Finlay’s monumental sculpture Gods of the Earth/Gods of the Sea, created in collaboration with stone-carver Nicholas Sloan, was installed, under Finlay’s guidance, at a location near Blossom Quarry on Rousay in 2005, shortly before the artist’s death.

Featuring contemporary photographs of life and work at Gledfield farmhouse, many previously unseen,  The Boat in the Writing Room provides a unique sense of its appearance at that time. In 1966 Finlay removed his wall-poems and other installations after a dispute with the landlords. The traces that remained, the discovery of which helped prompt this project, have now been erased by redevelopment.

Along with other early landscapes, of Perthshire and Orkney, Stonypath is shown as it looked in 1966, and the garden at Little Sparta as it is now.

Written and presented by Finlay biographer Alistair Peebles and directed by Michael Lloyd, The Boat in the Writing Room is an independent, educational co-production by flytingfilms and Brae Editions. A not-for-profit film, any proceeds derived from screenings will be donated to the Little Sparta Trust. Support received from other organisations and individuals is acknowledged within, but gratitude is mentioned here in particular to the Estates respectively of Ian Hamilton Finlay and Jonathan Williams, and to Gledfield Highland Estate.

With contributions from Sue Swan, early collaborators Michael Hamish Glen of The Salamander Press, artist and landscape architect the late Peter Lyle, and critic, historian and Finlay’s friend Stephen Bann.

Further screenings:

The Glasgow School of Art—20 November

Kyle of Sutherland Cinema Club, Bonar Bridge, Sutherland—21/22 November (to be confirmed)