Environmental Artist Hannah Brackston has spent 3 months exploring the different relationships that people have with the River Nith in Dumfries. Through the week of Inbetween:Dumfries the artist will be inviting people peer into the depths of the river using specially created Nith Scoping equipment. Also, look out for Hannah’s limited edition newspaper all about the Nith – available at venues around town.
Here are the details of how Nith Scoping works…..for detailed times and locations download the full inbetween programme or look in The Stove windows (100 High St, DG1 2BJ)
Artist Hannah says:
“Nithscoping is a new and activity I have invented to provide people in Dumfries with an exciting experience of their river from a perspective from which it is seldom seen. It addresses the challenge and struggle we can have in trying to understand and engage with natural forces (such as rivers) which we no longer have an industrial use for or much control of. In the case of the Nith in Dumfries, the river bed is one of the most talked of topics in the town, not because most people have actually seen it, but because it lies at the heart of strongly held dredging debate. It is trapped invisibly between those who want it to be removed to solve the towns enduring flooding problems and environmental groups and geologists who work to protect its essential biodiversity. In my attempt to understand this debate further I was troubled by a question; surely it is more meaningful to debate something we can actually look at? several adapted pieces of piping, magnifying lens, some recycled bicycle inner tubes, duck tape, truck tarpaulin and empty water bottles later, this has become possible…”
Nith Scoping Times:
Monday 5th Nov: 08.52 – 14.59 (Whitesands)
Tuesday 6th Nov: 09.40 – 15.50 (Whitesands)
Wednesday 7th Nov: 10.43 – 16.57 (Greensands)
Thursday 8th Nov: 12.00 – 18.14 (Whitesands)
Friday 9th Nov: 13.13 – 19.26 (Whitesands)
Saturday 10th Nov ……view all the Nith Scoping equipment and talk to the artist about the weeks experiences – come to The Stove between 3pm and 4pm.