SOMHAIRLE MACDONALD
DEPICTIONS OF AND NATIVE CURIOSITIES FROM
ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST LANDSCAPES.
THE CEILIDH PLACE, 14 West Argyle Street, Ullapool,
JUN 21st - AUG 8th 2025
THE ALIEN PANCAKES OF CÙL MòR - OIL ON BOX CANVAS -
55.5 x 45 cm
£675
Assynt has a primordial grip on me, a tangential connection. Perhaps it is something to do with my heritage from Wester Ross. Perhaps it is just the vast and unquestioning connection that the rock here has to the very, very distant past of all Earth’s creation. This landscape is so old that its presence tells rich stories of wisdom, endurance and persistence. It’s not an ordinary concept to respect or pity rocks, yet I do. The turmoil these rocks have been subjected to is so brutal that at times my heart bleeds for their troubles. Suilven... an inselberg that I hold in such abstract and lauded esteem oozes character from every aspect. The grumpy face of the sad grey giant from the West, from the east a towering bum of pride, from the south and north appearing as the sleeping giant, bloated and tired, gasping at the sky. I love this place with the grief of death, it’s darkened, long lasting aspect a chilling reminder of my fleshy insignificance.
Sgurr an Fhidhleir - OIL ON BOX CANVAS - 55.5 x 45 cm
🔴 £675
'Rocky peak of the Fiddler' or simply 'The Fiddler'. There are a few theories on how this mountain came to get its name; some folk say its triangular form is the elbow of a fiddler high in the air, others say that it looks like the heel of a bow. One of the more fanciful notions I’ve heard is that the cries of Eagles, echoing off the face of the buttress, would sustain and create a note much like a fiddle played in the high register. Whatever mystery is written into these hills it makes no odds. Fact is, I've still to venture into the glen which sits at its base, An Clù-nead (Warm, Sheltered Rest) and I fantasise about it often. Though the eagle story may be spurious, I would love to hear the sound of a fiddle in that place.
TECHNICALLY IT’S STILL THE ICEAGE - OIL ON BOX CANVAS - 55.5 x 45cm
🔴 £675
If Caledonian pines can live for 700 years, how old are these dead ones? The land on the slopes of Toll Creagach in Glen Cannich remains untouched for 10,000 years, bar a deer fence. It is clear that only stalkers come this way. All the trees here are ancient characters, craning away towards their drawn-out future. Even in death, they stand proud against the incoming barrage of western fronts.
These landscapes can be found all across the highlands, though they are buried deep, it’s easy to forget that most of the landscape you find yourself in used to forested. The people and the deer have taken most of it.
They are an allegory for my people!
This poem by Somhairle Maclean says it best.
https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/hallaig/
WEST HIGHLAND DEVIANCE - OIL ON BOX CANVAS - 40.5 x 40.5 cm
£560
Caravans are ubiquitous in rural Scotland, they often make up for extra space in the house are used as spare bedrooms or a place to store assortments of extraneous stuff. Occasionally you find a caravan hidden away in a wee strategic beauty spot, well hidden, not far from a road, nowhere near a house. Usually it’s a well kept caravan, free of crofting paraphernalia or unnecessary ugliness, exuding a weak make-do-and-mends romance. These types of caravans are often what you would call 'shagging caravans', amenities that are used as secretive and surreptitious venues for romances that cannot be expressed in public. Both Men and Women will pass the keys around and in most cases they are simply left open. Keep your eye out for them, once you start looking you’ll start to see them.
KENYERNORSE - OIL ON BOX CANVAS - 40.5 x 40.5CM
£560
This croft house is in the settlement of Dalsetter, North Yell, Shetland. There is a large house close by called the Easterhouse of Dalsetter, where I assume the laird lived. I have looked for information on Dalsetter and all I can find is the census records of the 52 people who lived there, the last recorded entry being 1871.
Although this house is not of the West Highlands it does allow me to spout off about how integral Norse and Scandanvian cultures have been to Scotland, it is only in the last century that these ancient and deep seeded ties have been severed. For years I have been obsessed with Iceland and found out that after recent genealogical research it turns out that 60% of the women on Iceland have genes from the North of Scotland. The tale we have been spun by the colonists is that the Norse came and took the Women in raids and enslaved them. These women were know as Thrall, derived from the gaelic word tràillean, meaning slaves. I’m not sure if it was that clear cut to be honest, I mean the Norse settled everywhere ,we’re as much them as we are the other. Of course Iceland until recently believed most of it’s blood line came from Norway, just another colonial deceit.
Everone’s from somewhere and it shouldn’t actually matter.
ROB IG NEDD - OIL ON BOX CANVAS - 40.5 X 40.5cm
£560
As local legend has it, this house was dragged all the way from the shore up to the road. Chopper and Robb Ig Nedd... I asked about this house on the internet and got this story from local Callum MacLeod.
“It was always known as Robb Ig Nedd's (Robb son of Nedd) house and it was in that position as long as I remember. If I remember correctly Chopper lived there when he got married first and then moved to Manse Road. Etta MacIver said she remembered it being down at the shore (Mallen), then it was put on a flat cart or rollers and dragged up by horse power to its present location.”
Thank you to Callum and Paula Macleod for the story. I think we can all agree this is a fine place to store a collection of grease and a fitting example of the close relationship Highland folk have with the landscape, their heritage and how they are so integral to it.
This house is now a Red and Black, Air B&B, if your going to Old Shore Mòr you will see it.
Cailleach-Oidhche - OIL ON CANVAS - 50.5 X 40.5cm
🔴 £560
Owls have a confused symbolism in Scotland. Ancient people believed Owls were wise, good luck and to make eye contact would bestow you with the wisdom of the dead. Modern (post colonial) parlance would lead you to believe Owls are stupid, harbingers of doom and bad luck . Of course the native aspect is far more in keeping with the birds actual behaviour. Owls are intelligent and have excellent memories, wild owls often show compassion to captive owls by taking them food and lingering late at night talking to them. I read an article from a guy who runs an owl sanctuary and he believes the wild owls feel sorry for the captive owls. I have seen a pair of barn owls twice since moving to EK and it does feel like good luck, though the second time i saw them they were definitely arguing. Do I believe owls can speak to dead and guide you through the afterlife? I dunno, never made good enough friends with one. Maybe???
THE ASSYNT BONE CAVE CHILLOUT - OIL ON CANVAS - 50.5 X 40.5cm
£560
This is the cover for my sound art piece which I released digitally to coincide with this exhibition.
This track is constructed from field recordings Popes and myself made in the ancient Bone Caves of Inchnadamh. The lead vocalist is a Stag from Glen Etive. I have literally worked on this track for years and I am very pleased with what myself, Pauline and Andrea Gobbi have created. With Andrea's help and his awesome high-end studio at GlowWorm Recording we have crafted an audiophile treat which is 3 dimensional, and immersive. We worked hard to make the stereo as wide and as deep as we could. I believe it conjures up a slow and peaceful trance which assists in the hard-won ability to empty one's mind, to transport you across the great span of time that only a landscape that is 2.8 million years old can conjure.
You can listen to ‘THE ASSYNT BONE CAVE CHILLOUT’ here.
https://zomh.bandcamp.com/track/the-assynt-bone-cave-chillout
DEL ❤ KELLY - OIL ON CANVAS - 50.5 X 40.5cm
£560
So this one is a total ‘HOT TAKE’.
Any one who is local knows the DEL ❤ KELLY crag, half way down Corrieshalloch Gorge. In 2016 BEAR Scotland, the Public Private Partnership which oversees the road network up here, decided in their wisdom that they would remove the graffiti that had been there since the 1970’s. Folk got mad understandably, this heartfelt scrawling had become a local landmark, you can always see it in the dark and is a good marker that you’re nearly on the flats out to loch broom. After a public outcry BEAR Scotland stated that ‘if the graffiti is to reappear it will not be removed’…
Honestly I painted this picture to get over a long stint working in The Corinthian Club, I think DEL would probably have a great craic in the Corinthian to be fare. I joined the dots and here’s it. Apologies to Del and Kelly for exploiting their love for the sake of a creative ‘HOT TAKE’
I have included a sound file to illustrate how I say this.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MUTTON - OIL ON CANVAS - 56 X 45.5cm
£560
This one explains itself doesn’t it?
Tell you something though, don’t you think it an absolute travesty, what with all we’ve been through for sheep. That it is almost nigh on impossible to get Mutton from anywhere, what is happening to all the old sheep? Because I as sure as hell am not getting to eat any of them.
THE LONG STAG OF LàMH MO BHRIOGAIS - 56 X 45.5cm
£560
I’ve been slowly building up the idea of a fictitious highland estate, a creative vehicle to slander the landed gentry and imagine debauched tales of the big house. Of course the Red Deer is so ubiquitous to the highlands, their numbers now endemic and out of proportion to the eco system in which they live, it’s why we have so few trees and so many tics, even the deer keds are making a comeback.
If the ‘Monarch of the Glen’ by Sir Edwin Landseer is the quintessential image of the highlands, this is supposed to be the opposite.
These articles on the Assynt Crofters website will give you a flavour of what the red deer situation is in the area.
https://www.theassyntcrofters.co.uk/deer/
POLECAT CONUNDRUM - OIL ON CANVAS - 56 X 45.5cm
£560
This painting is derived from a photograph I found in a photo book called ‘The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and The Enigmatic Meaning of Their Dreams’ by Alessandra Sanguinetti. Who photographed two cousins from rural Argentina for 20 years. It’s an incredible project that encapsulates their lives so beautifully.
The photos evoked many memories of my own child hood growing up in rural An Aird, it is not rural where i come from anymore, there are 10 times the houses and 1/100th of the community.
I changed the raccoon in the photo to Pole Cat. Spurred on by a lack of ability to paint things, procrastinating and finding this article of polecat persecution in Assynt.
https://www.assyntwildlife.org.uk/2017/06/polecats-in-assynt-a-blast-from-the-past/
THE TOTEM POLE - PENCIL COLLAGE - MOUNTED AND FRAMED - 123 x 40cm
£900
Totem poles have been… well… totemic for indigenous peoples for eons. I suppose our versions are the standing stones. If you ever happened upon a stone circle at night you will not be 100% sure that the stones are not people for quite a while. I drew this in what can only be described as an existential crisis. It became the centre piece for my 2025 Calendar… I made the video below in an effort to sell said calendars, i think it speaks of our time…
THE KIDS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FIX IT - PENCIL ON KHADI RAG - MOUNTED AND FRAMED - 53 x 37cm
£540
Well with the world in the state it is today I worry about my kids and everybody else’s kids. The current crop of adults are resolutely and unequivocally not fit for purpose. Here I have drawn a small girl holding a massive wrench. I think her expression speaks to my emotion.
FOR THE WOMEN OF ACHNAHAIRD - PENCIL ON PAPER -
£220
I worked with Mairearad Green and Rachel Newton on an album about thier Great Great Grandmother Anna Bhán of Achnahaird. She led the successful Coigach resistance of 1852 during the Highland Clearances. Apparently their is a new sculpture to be erected in her honour, I suppose that this is me riffing on the idea of a sculpture, the spry woman bowling over the swollen horse of bailiffs, land owners and lawmakers. Though it’s definitely not respectful or serious enough to commemorate such a powerful Woman.
The Music can be found here https://annabhan.bandcamp.com/album/anna-bh-n
CHUBBY MOUNTAIN- ACRYLIC ON PAPER - 40.5 X 40.5cm
£200
This is the cover for ‘Strathspey Queens play Eddie McGuire’ an EP of insane compositions played by two of the most adept string players in Scotland today. Patsy Reid And Alice Allen; It’s astounding.
This painting was done freely whilst listening to the music as the artists requested. This was my favourite of the batch I painted for the release. It reminds me of Cùl Beag.
The music is here if you want a listen
https://patsyreid.bandcamp.com/track/rant-4
HARDY CATS up here - PENCIL, OIL PASTEL AND INK ON PAPER - 40.5x 40.5cm
🔴 £180
Fakskakesmin, hardy cats up here, eyes all o’er thier faces and that, total mad ninjas eh? Better as a ferret and half as hard as tryan ta see ya.
POOO BAAA - ACRYLIC, PENCIL, OIL AND PASTEL ON PAPER - 40.5x 40.5cm
£180
Is this the new owner of the Spar in Durness?
GARBH MEANS ROUGH - DIGITAL PRINT - MOUNTED AND FRAMED
🔴 £240
This image was the cover of Gàidhlig Supergroup DIAMH’s album The Rough Bounds. Garbh (Garve) means rough. If you are in Ullapool you have passed through Garve and it is rough. Better than it used to be though. I had a pal living in a residential caravan in Garve for a while and it gets so damp there in the winter, that was one of the mouldiest caravans I’ve ever known someone to live in. Thank god for the Hoodgie Maroo.
This character was based of a certain type of guy who existed in quite large numbers across the West Highlands. Glint in the eye, mischievous and adventurous with a wit as sharp as a gutting knife. If you look closely you will see that his tattoos depict landmarks and curiosities from the “na garbh criochan’ area of Lochaber. I believe the word Hoodgie Maroo was first coined in the Marine Bar, Mallaig, by a man much like this one.
UALLACH NA MARA - DIGITAL PRINT MOUNTED AND FRAMED
£240
This is a panel from the Fèis Rois commissioned album, The Voyage of the Hector. The Hector was a clearance boat that sailed from Loch Broom to new world of Nova Scotia. The story is not good from any aspect, other than the fact these hardy people totally prevailed and constructed a society over there that is arguably more utopian than the one we live in here.
“The story of the Hector is one of human endeavour and hardship.
In early July 1773 207 passengers, mainly from Wester Rois, boarded the ship in the small village of Ullapool. The boat, in the end carrying only 189 passengers, finally came to port in town of Pictou, Nova Scotia in mid-September. The landing was several weeks later than planned.
the journey between the two ports was one of great drama, hardship and suffering.”
NOEL GALLACHER IN POLO NECK- OIL ON CANVAS
£120
I’ve been trying to paint Noel Gallacher in a bin bag for ages, this painting is simply a by product of this ridiculous undertaking. It has nothing to do with the Highlands of Scotland at all except maybe some spurious connection to shirt boys and side burns.
THE ASSYNT BONE CAVE CHILLOUT
In addition to the visual art I have also made a work of sound art / music. This work is constructed from field recordings made at the Bone Caves at Inchnadamph. Drums are made from rolling rocks and dropped boulders, the snare drum is made of snapping Caledonian pine bark. Deep stereo ambiences of water and mountain all wrapped in the acoustic space of the caves, where pre-iceage Polar Bears, Lynx and Reindeer were found. The lead vocalist is a rutting Stag I recorded whilst taking star trail photographs in Glen Etive. The dense audiophile environments are punctuated by guitar, sythesiser and bass and great care has been taken to ensure that the sound is deep, wide and immersive.
I believe it conjures up a slow and peaceful trance which assists in the hard-won ability to empty one's mind; to transport you across the eons of deep time that only a 2.8 billion year old landscape can evoke.
This music is not about Scotland,
it is music made of Scotland.
Somhairle MacDhòmhniall
Is an award-winning multimedia artist from Drumchardine in Invernesshire but has lived in Glasgow since 1999. He has deep family ties to the West Highlands, his grandparents hailing from Alligin and Inverasdale.
The work presented here depicts stories and native curiosities from Ross, Coigach and Assynt. The work reflects Somhairle's obsession with local history and the ancient makeup of what we call Highland Scotland. Every painting and drawing has a story associated with it. Some true and some ficticious.
Somhairle is an artist, musician, photographer and graphic designer.
He has designed more than 150 album covers.