With and against the Flow

Anne Murray, a craft artist, and Jake Williams, a local musician, worked with us during Spring 2013 on a mapping project.

The River Deveron flows through Huntly, connecting us with the hills of the Cabrach, the Grampian Range, and the sea. The 60 mile length river is known for its excellent fishing, provided us with a name, and many hours of interesting walks along its banks.

With and Against the Flow was a mapping project that interpreted walking along the river with and against the flow, from the Cabrach in the foothills of the Cairngorm to the Moray Coast between Banff and Macduff. Inspired by history, music, landscape and the people who have lived and worked on the river, Anne and Jake used the walking experience to create new work and engage with the communities they met along the way.

With the Flow: musician Jake Williams walked from the river source at the watershed between Glenbuchat and the Cabrach. The song-walk featured a series of pub gigs, where possible recording music on location. Jake invited people with knowledge of local ballads and songs to join in his walk, and around a dozen traditional songs, like ‘The Burn of Gauch’, were gathered. From the journey, Jake produced recordings of the songs that belong to the Deveron Valley, as well as a song-book which is now available from our shop.

Against the Flow: Anne Murray, a local ceramic artist, was walking the river from the sea to the Cabrach. Murray is a peripatetic artisan, carrying with her everything she needs to observe, record and make things on her way. The route was walked slowly in very small sections, mapped, illustrated and researched. She gathered found objects, collected soil samples and captured images as well as producing small crafted objects while out walking. Small natural objects were left in the landscape for other walkers to find, remove and relocate into another landscape. On the way, Anne gathered images and information about the Deveron route- its stories, architecture and environment, welcoming a raft of people to join the walk.

The artists’ work helped Deveron Projects to map a walk along the length of the river, connecting with routes already established for others to walk. The selection of songs is now produced as a musical companion for walkers, alongside Anne’s colourful map.