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The Sculpture
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The slugs are life-size sculptures of the large black species and based on close observation of the real thing. Each one is different and appears to crawl across, or rest upon the boulder it has been placed on. On some boulders a pair of slugs can be found.
The slugs were created as the result of a two month residency at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop.
Elizabeth noticed that the slugs were present throughout the site and saw them as a unifying feature linking the forest with the hill. She has always been “a fan” and is intrigued by the dislike they provoke in people. She decided to create miniature monuments to these creatures and to cast them in bronze, a material associated with the statues of great heroes and mythological figures. She modelled the slugs in wax, and copied the poses of live ones kept on her desk. These were cast in bronze at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop and then fastened to their natural plinths in the forest.
Elizabeth was also interested in the idea of a walk, and felt the slowness of slugs related well to this. She wants to encourage visitors to Tyrebagger to slow down too, to look closely at their surroundings and to enjoy making discoveries as they explore the forest and hill.
Another work that was created as a result of her residency, and that is also based on the idea of a walk, is a piece of creative writing. This takes the form of a dialogue between herself and the eminent (and long deceased) naturalist, William MacGillivray, as they walk around the site discussing the things that they see on the way. It has been printed as an edition of 2000 illustrated booklets. |
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