The sea and all kinds of marine activities are central to Orkney life. There used to be a seaweed industry in Orkney and in this, our second collaboration with Orkney International Science Festival, OJA are presenting a seaweed project that looks at seaweed in its many manifestations, through talks, tales and film, and two exhibitions whose contributing artists all use seaweed to create their works.

Seaweed on Sunday (8th September from 6:30 pm ─ 8:00 pm) is a look at people and seaweed over the centuries, in Scotland and Japan, through film, stories and refreshments. There will be an opportunity to taste seaweed in various forms, including Onigiri (filled rice balls) from Sakura Kitchen and wakame flavoured Skaill House gin. Here is the trailer from Julia Parks’s film Seaweed to set the scene. Tickets are available through the OISF link above or direct through Eventbrite.

Seaweed fits in well with sustainable food sources, one of the key themes of this year’s Science Festival. A related topic is also explored in New Shelter for Fish, sponsored by Shibuya Diving, Aquatera and EMEC.

Exhibitions

Mother of the Sea is an exhibition of seaweed art inspired by the work of Dr Kathleen Drew Baker whose work on the life cycle of laver (nori) seaweed earned her the title of “Mother of the Sea” in Japan. That name makes a link with the Orkney folktale about the ‘Mither of the Sea’ who gives life to all sea creatures.

The exhibition brings together work by Ingrid Budge, Alison Clark, Mollie Goldstrom & William Arnold, Yvonne Harcus, Joanne B Kaar, Julia Lohmann, Rebecca Marr, Alison Moore, Judith Nixon, Frances Pelly, Rosey Priestman, Ami Robb, Dawn Stevens, Ingrid Stout, Megumi Barrington Uenoyama, and Miek Zwamborn.

Mother of the Sea is also part of Surf and Turf where we will show 3 films: Seaweed by Julia Parks, and two films by Maya Minder and Ewen Chardronnet; Umi no Oya and Homo Photosyntheticus: Interview with Yamamoto Takahiro, featuring the 7th generation head of the Yamamoto Noriten Company, founded 1849.

Megumi Barrington Uenoyama, one of the contributing artists, spent several months in Japan this year, where she did some research about small batch production of nori in Osaka Bay, and together with her son, did a nori making workshop with primary school children there. Her research will also be part of our exhibition.

With thanks for generous support from Orkney Islands Council, Orkney International Science Festival and the Japan Society of Scotland.

The seaweed story continues after Science Festival —

Diana Leslie and Megumi Barrington-Uenoyama will offer a one-day seaweed printing workshop at Soulisquoy Printmakers on Saturday 14 September (full details coming soon).

And Stromness Museum will have an exhibition of seaweed later this year, featuring examples from their collection of pressed seaweed; approximately 390 specimens collected between 1839 and 1962.