Fishy goings on at Loch Earn
Students hope their art will reel in the visitors
Three art students have sparked some fishy goings on in Lochearnhead.
Perth College UHI art students have collaborated on The Three Sisters, a 3.5 metre high steel fishing rod and clan tartan fish sculpture commissioned for the village.
The work complements the award winning BLiSS trail of art installations in the area and is brainchild of BA Contemporary Art and Contextualised Practice students, Miami Mohsin and Shayna Mclean, and HND Contemporary Art Practice student, Amy Butler.
The students hope The Three Sisters will reel visitors in to Lochearnhead to photograph their historic work of art all year round.
The sculpture concept was singled out following a business project set by BLiSS trail creators, Loch Earn Tourism Information (LETi).
The theme for the installation, sited at Lochside Cottages’ jetty on Loch Earn, was based on Visit Scotland’s tourism “Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017” and the winning concept and structure based on the student team’s research of clans, history, heritage and the habitat of Loch Earn.
Suspended from the large rod are a native brown trout (a source of food in the area for generations), a rainbow trout and a rare pike, crafted with professionally turned wooden heads, fins and tails and incorporating Celtic carvings.
Middle sections sport local clan tartans of MacLaren and MacGregor, and Cameron of Lochiel, representing the BLS Highland Games’ president and land owners Angus and his wife Ollie Cameron (née McLaren).
Artist Shayna, who led the research, said: “The rod symbolises fish as a source of food, hobby and sport keenly practiced today. Wood represents the ancient and new forests around Loch Earn. We learned that beech and cherry were best for ease of carving, strength and their ability to survive Scottish lochside temperatures. Steel, often found in fishing rods was galvanised to enable a strong stable structure. Tartans represent clans and sheep, a source of food and yarn for decades. The Celtic symbols are based on historic inhabitants and their environment”.
Skilled experts and materials were sourced including: Meddicks Blacksmiths, wood turner David Gray, wood carver Andrew Moore and Isle Mill fabric manufacturers. LETi collaborated on funding with additional sponsorship from Cooper Cottages, Balquhidder Mhor Lodge, Briar Cottages and Lochside Cottages. The signpost was sponsored by Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs.
The rod symbolises fish as a source of food, hobby and sport