Visitors to Tullie House over the next few weeks can view Border castles and strongholds from the first wars of Scottish independence, which have been visually reconstructed in Carlisle-based artist Sam Rollinson’s photographic installation.
Each image portrays a different stronghold from Berwick-Upon-Tweed to Carlisle. They depict a time when bastions were under siege from either the Scottish or English Kings from the late 13th Century onwards.
The photographs are brought alive by the turmoiled soundtrack, which immerses the viewer in the violence and disorder experienced by many during the conflicts on the Border. This was a time of the Great Famine, the Black Death, the Peasants’ Revolt and the beginnings of the Border Reivers.
This installation is being supported by items from the Tullie House Museum collection. The items, chosen by the artist, are designed to convey how the evidence of conflict and daily life often lies awkwardly together.
‘The past often feels so distant; I want to border that gap’ says Rollinson, who recently graduated in Photography from the University of Cumbria with a First Class Honours Degree.
The exhibition runs from Saturday 8 September until Sunday 4 November.