GERALD LAING

Selected Citations and Comments

Image shown of man and boy is the plaster for bronze.

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A composition showing a family group consisting of man, wife, teenaged boy, and child in arms. The silhouette is clear and strong and expresses movement. The sculpture expresses the emotions which will affect people who have been obliged quite suddenly to move from their familiar surroundings and way of life into the unknown. Family members will react in different ways according to their position in the group. Thus the man, who is responsible for the economic well being and safety of the group, strides forward grimly determined to do whatever is necessary to achieve this, though so far he has no idea of what may be in store for him and his uprooted family.
The boy, on the other hand, is lighthearted. He relies on his father, but senses with almost joyful anticipation that there is adventure ahead. He does not think much about what has been left behind; his mind is on the future. The woman is wholeheartedly supportive of her husband and committed to the tasks which lie ahead, but she also feels most deeply the tearing loss of familiar hearth and home and the security it represented, especially since she has a baby in her arms. Involuntarily she glances back for one more glimpse of home, while striding forward with the others. The man is shown wearing the belted plaid, sporran, shirt and brogans. I am aware that it is unlikely that many, if any, cleared men would wear such items given the proscription and changes in fashion. However, to some extent the sculpture is concerned with the loss of a specific culture and way of life, a process which some people believe began at Culloden, and this dress which is so closely and uniquely associated with the Highlands is surely an acceptable symbol. The man is carrying items for their journey such as an axe, a cooking pot and a bedroll. The boy is wearing a philabeg, and there are in existence photographs of cleared families in which children appear dressed in this manner. The woman’s dress is also authentic. This is a very early stage in the creative process. At present the model for the sculpture is only 40” [102 cm] high.The themes here touched upon the necessarily be changed and developed as the work progresses through successive increases in scale until we reach the full-sized version which will tower above those who climb the mound.

Gerald Laing, The Highland Clearances Sculpture, Helmsdale - Proposal, unpublished manuscript, 2002