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Wester Ross 'litter lines' get to the art of a messy matter





'Litter lines' help cast a fresh, artistic light on the problem of coastal litter.
'Litter lines' help cast a fresh, artistic light on the problem of coastal litter.

WORKS of art which throw a unique light on the problem of coastal litter will be on the move in Wester Ross to coincide with World Environment Day today (June 5).

Julia Barton is the first artist in residence on Isle Martin, an uninhabited island on Loch Broom and is the closest of the Summer Isles to Ullapool.

It has been the site of a monastery, a herring curing station, flour mill and an RSPB reserve before being gifted to a community trust.

Julia has been mapping and recording washed up litter on Camas a’ Bhuailidh beach, Isle Martin, as part of the Littoral Art Project.

Her aim is to make a floating graphic illustration of the litter problem which continues to blight our coastline by creating “litter lines”.

Pupils from Ullapool High school visited the island to help begin the first litter line made from plastic drinks bottles.

Julia is stitching and tying together similar types of materials with found rope and cord to make a series of ten lines.

To coincide with World Environment Day, Julia and a team of rowers from the local skiff club and High School will tow the ‘litter lines’ across Loch Kinaird to the Ardmair slipway.

The ‘litter lines’ will be collected by the Highland Council Waste Services and the recycling journey of the litter will be documented on the project blog at www.littoralartproject.com

Julia has worked with over 100 people over the past nine months in the Ullapool and Coigach area including five schools.

The local community has been invited to take part, everyone is welcome. The event is one of thousands which are taking place across the world as part of the United Nations Environment Programme encouraging awareness and action for the environment

The professional artist, who is based in Scotland, works throughout the UK and abroad. Littoral Art Project is described as a science art project investigating and drawing attention to beach litter and its effects on the environment.

This event is being supported through donations via Crowd Funding and Black Reiver Consultancy. The original project research was supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland and Crowd Funding.


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