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Roman Rooms & Relics. An Exhibition by Clare Yarrington and Neil Fyffe

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Home | Roman Rooms & Relics. An Exhibition by Clare Yarrington and Neil Fyffe
Roman Rooms & Relics. An Exhibition by Clare Yarrington and Neil Fyffe
Friday 04th April 2025 for 112 days
10:30am -
 4:30pm

4 April
-
25 July
LocationTrimontium Museum - HALO
 

April 4 – July 25

We are absolutely delighted to present the art of Clare Yarrington and Neil Fyffe.

This exhibit will run from April 4th until July 25th. We hope you will take some time to come by and view these wonderful pieces for yourself, inspired by the beautifully preserved rooms from Pompeii and by archaeological artefacts from Trimontium and various Iron Age sites in Scotland.

All works will be available for purchase with a portion of the profits going to help support the work at Trimontium.

The exhibition is open to the public during museum opening times.

Special thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland and UK Shared Prosperity Fund without whom the development of the HALO space and associated activities would not be possible.

Clare Yarrington

Since the dramatic eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum have been buried under layers of ash and tufa. It was only in the eighteenth century that these miraculously preserved remains were rediscovered first by treasure hunters and later by archaeologists, since when many parts of the ruined towns have been carefully conserved.  Although the rooms of these ancient towns are now empty, they are full of space for the imagination. 

Well-to-do Romans had their rooms painted in strong colours, such as red, yellow, and black, which readily lend themselves to abstract compositions. Most fascinating, however, is the continual interplay between the past and present. Fragments of ordinary things, a corner of a room or a piece of painted plaster, are transformed by disaster and time into moving evocations of past lives.  There is also the visible tension between our modern efforts to halt the inevitable passage of time and these shattered fragments of the past. 

Clare studied archaeology at the Edinburgh University (MA Hons), and was later awarded a BA (Hons) in Fine Art by Sheffield Hallam University.  Since leaving archaeology to pursue a full-time career as a fine artist she has exhibited nationally and internationally, winning several awards, including the JD Fergusson Art Award and the Derbyshire Trophy.

Clare has worked on community art projects for Historic Scotland and has given demonstrations and led workshops on printmaking, drawing and mixed media on behalf of County Councils, local art groups and schools.  As a member of Fife (Dunfermline) Print Workshop (FDPW) she organised their exhibition programme for ten years. Clare was previously Chairperson of Perth and Kinross Visual Arts Forum. (PVAF)  www.clareyarrington.com

Neil Fyffe

All my pieces in the Roman Rooms and Relics Exhibition are inspired by real archaeological finds at Trimontium, other Roman sites in Scotland and sites of the indigenous Iron Age people in Scotland. My work is hand turned on a lathe and/or hand carved using locally sourced sustainable wood.

I wanted to give the pieces the feel of excavated artifacts, so I have used distinctive burr woods for their jagged edges and natural holes, and spalted woods for their black lines, colours and grains. The original vessels were made from metals, pottery or wood and were purposeful and fitted the hand well. I hope I have captured these elements.

The cards beside the pieces give the archaeological source information along with the type of wood used and finish applied.

All my work is bespoke and made to order through the process of commission and can be sent around the world. My workshop is in Selkirk, 8 miles away and visitors are welcome, by appointment. If you would like to commission a special piece, please contact me.

I graduated Master of Arts from Edinburgh University in 1986 and began working with wood soon afterwards. In 1993 I set up my own workshop and for 3 years was Craftsman in Residence at Ballindalloch Castle, Banffshire. From 1996 until 2002 I had my own workshop in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire. In 2003 I moved to Selkirk in the Scottish Borders where I have my current workshop.

I have had work shown in exhibitions at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, The Royal Scottish Academy, Visual Arts Scotland and Society of Scottish Artists and I have won awards from The Gordon Forum for the Arts and The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. www.neilfyffe.co.uk

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