Proving again that necessity is the mother of invention, the restrictions on live events this New Year’s Eve prompted an original take on the legendary ‘Hogmanay’ celebrations in Scotland this year. It’s rare to see an event where poetry, visual design, film and sound come together so seamlessly.
One of the keys to the event’s power, is the contrast between the poems’ elemental themes – drawing on mythology, ancient traditions, the ‘lost stories of the stars’ – and the brand new swarm drone technology used to bring them to visual life. For example, to illustrate Jackie Kay’s poem the visual designer took inspiration from cave paintings, a ‘primitive’ influence particularly noticeable in the unforgettable image of the stag that runs across the Highlands to the Firth of Forth.
There are other tensions used to beautiful effect. An air, is of course the air, the night sky above Scotland but it is also the ‘airs’ (songs) that haven’t been sung during the pandemic but find voice here.
The show is divided into three parts FLIGHT 1: the past; FLIGHT 2: the present; FLIGHT 3: the future.
The final part not only takes inspiration from Scotland’s most famous poet Robert Burns it also introduces foreigners to Scottish New Year traditions:
‘…And though we can’t First Foot / with lumps o’ coal, black bun, a Raasey Malt’
Traditionally, in Scotland, the first person to enter the house after midnight (the first foot) should be a dark haired man bringing coal, food and whisky. This is thought to date back to the time of the Viking invasions when the appearance of a fair haired man would be very bad luck indeed!
If the technology is impressive, underpinning it all is Jackie Kay’s poetry which stands alone as a wonderfully evocative piece of work. “Till the hands wring the minutes out of the clock / and the new year turns its key in the old year’s lock”
Let’s hope that this new year does indeed hold the key to unlocking a better future.
