Compelled by Memory: The Lewis Land Monuments, 1994 – 2019

In Scotland’s Outer Hebrides on the rugged Isle of Lewis, five powerful award-winning monuments commemorate the island’s Land Heroes. Their courageous struggle for Land Law Reform resulted in the thriving Gaelic speaking community that Lewis encompasses today.The intention of this book is twofold: through the photography of Robin Gillanders, the design, setting and materials of these ‘sentinels in stone’ are brought together for all to enjoy, while essays by distinguished Scottish art historians, and Gaelic speaking island historian Dr Joni Buchannan, tell a vivid story of the events commemorated by each monument, examining their iconography, and exploring each work within the context of a wider cultural rebellion against the hegemony of imposed values.Compelled by Memory also pays tribute to the artist Will Maclean. He oversaw all five memorials installed between 1994 and 2019, initially designing those at Balallan, Aignish and Gress River, and then with fellow artist Marian Leven designed An Sùileachan on the west coast. They were joined by the sculptor Arthur Watson in undertaking the meditational site to mark the centenary of the tragic loss of HMV Iolaire, wrecked in a terrible storm on New Year’s Day 1919, just outside Stornoway Harbour.In each case the projects grew from wide consultation. Maclean took no fee, working in cooperation with a team of Lewis men – archaeologists, historians and the stone mason James Crawford – to fulfil the brief honouring their ancestors through these narratives in stone, to create a group of the finest examples of land art in the British Isles.

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