Digging Deeper Commission
Belladonna Paloma, Rabindranath X Bhose and Oren Shoesmith are three artists collectively exploring the resistant, seductive and mystical ways of boglands. They are interested in what the bog can teach us about trans and queer resilience, as well as how to live in uncertain times of ecological and economic collapse. As part of Gaada’s 2023/25 programme Digging a deeper creative ecology the trio were commission to develop designs for artist works which will be incorporated into the organisation’s redeveloped building. In their own words, Paloma, Bhose and Shoesmith describe the project:
Gaada is one of our creative and spiritual homes, as a workshop committed to artist-led experimentation and surrounded by bogland on Burra. It is also a very special community space, where we have met many new friends. We are honoured by the invitation to create an art object to be integrated into their future building.
Our response to Gaada’s proposal has focused on three architectural elements of the future building designs: the entrance, the toilet and the garden. During this project, we explored the metaphysical, hidden and unusual aspects of these everyday spaces. We spent time thinking about the below-ground architectures, how pipes, stones and peat connect Gaada to a wider network of sewers, lochs, burns and, of course, bogs. We were inspired by stories of local cruising spots, which led us to thinking about George Michael and his 1998 public sex anthem, ‘Outside’, and this became a guiding light for us.
Pray at the bowl
Send ur prayers downpipes
& lay lines following plumbing
Tapping into a stone tape theory of porcelain tiles
Staying to hear another come in
For glory holes & portals, tenderness
& sanctuary, fonts & holy waters
We created our prints by writing exquisite corpse poems to build imagery, then worked in layers on top of each other’s drawings. Our goal was to create a multi-dimensional shrine for all those who may have been excluded from public space: a testament to Gaada who welcomes everyone in to be themselves.
Our prints are designs for a stained glass porthole window between the toilet and the entrance, and a tessellating floor mosaic that seeps between the two spaces. We want to connect a space of welcome with a space that is typically private to celebrate all aspects of a person. As people who find our ancestries at the margins and gaps of archives, we don’t often get to leave a lasting mark in the structure of public space. The prospect of inscribing a permanent object in the building of Gaada’s future is incredibly moving to us.
Digging Deeper Commission was part of Gaada’s 2023/25 programme Toogs: Digging a Deeper Creative Ecology and was funded by Creative Scotland.