Seaweed Shelter no.6, March 2023
The Shiant Isles, Eilean an Tighe
Published in Dark Mountain Project Issue 24, Eight Fires
Kelp, driftwood, driftrope, rusted fencing, found nails, rocks
Seaweed Shelter no.6 was made on the uninhabited Shiant Isles where I spent 33 days of winter in solitude.
Inspired by A-frame survival shelters, which are the most straightforward structural form for body heat preservation in survival situations, I developed this seaweed shelter. Using found driftwood the exact length of my body I formed a simple A-frame and draped long kelp ribbons from tail to top over the frame. I weighed the kelp into place using rocks, evocative of the rocks weighing down thatched roofs of Scottish blackhouses. With its tail facing the direction of the Spring Equinox sunset the kelp becomes illuminated in its vibrant gold colour as you lie inside the shelter, body engulfed in its light.
