Raasay
The poet Sorley MacLean was born in Osgaig, a small crofting community on the west coast of the island; perhaps his most famous poem is about "Hallaig", an abandoned community on the east coast. MacLean's writings often combine an ancient traditional awareness, with a modernist political outlook, in which Raasay, and the areas adjacent to it are frequently referenced. But while MacLean's work dwells on the brutality of war, of the Highland Clearances and modern exploitation, he also writes about nature. Thus, although the Clearances leave an empty landscape populated only by the ghosts of those evicted or forced to emigrate, "Time, the deer, is in the Wood of Hallaig".
Myfanwy Macleod
Having been born in London, Ontario in 1961, MacLeod spent her “formative years” immersed in the “cool-culture” of rock and roll, muscle cars, and feathered hair. "Myfanwy MacLeod, or There And Back Again" showcases the nostalgia that MacLeod has for the past. Hosting the exhibition in two specific locations, MacLeod bridges the gap between then and now by exhibiting the work in both her childhood hometown of London Ontario, and in Vancouver, British Columbia, the current city where she resides.