Gathering

breathe in

remember the value
   of rhythm

   breathe out again

when you confront
   your mountain

breathe in


after Balfour-Browne

paths are maintained by use

paths are never straight, no matter how flat the country

trust a deer path over a human path

paths decide between us

a song for a path, a pibroch for a great wood

plan a path with broad feet and narrow eyes

a path moves the edges of the mountains

paths are interludes in-between episodes

a path should merge into the wild on either side

a path translates muddled ground into arranged land

a path holds the foreground and assembles vision, just as far as the horizon

a path is not static


after Frank Fraser Darling and GF Dutton

Adam’s credo

not ‘character building’ walks
   but free will

not Duke of Edinburgh Awards
   but joy

not interpretative boards
   but abiding mystery

not ‘challenge walks’
   but awe

not avalanche alerts
   but humility

after Adam Watson

     THE SETTLED WILL
OF OUR COMMON WORK

               path

selections from gathering: an ongoing poetic mapping of the Cairngorms inspired by local place-names and their meanings sourced from Adam Watson’s detailed survey, The Place Names of Upper Deeside.

Gathering was commissioned by Hauser & Wirth, for the Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar; the project was launched in 2015 and will conclude in 2018.

The artist residency at University of Aberdeen is funded by The Leverhulme Trust; the project was launched in July 2016 and will conclude May 2017.


For this project collaborators include:

Hannah Devereux: photography
Gill Russell: maps and walks
James Dyas Davidson: photography
Rhynie Woman: foraging
Studio LR: design
John Murray, Ian Murray, Peter Drummond, Adam Watson: place-names


photography:

Glen Feardar: Hannah Devereux, 2015
Glen Gairn: Hannah Devereux, 2015
Glen Derry: Hannah Devereux, 2015
Glen Ey: Hannah Devereux, 2015
Glen Muick: Hannah Devereux, 2015


for more poems from gathering see: Reliquae, Volume 3