'What I thought was very interesting is that before the Gunnister Man exhibition was brought to Shetland, his purse, and specifically the red patterned knitting in it, was quite a symbol of him, especially for Shetland. But now that everyone has seen all of his clothing and belongings, it's clear there is so much more to his being, his history, his last days, his identity and this is what struck me when I first saw all of the clothing in Edinburgh. It was quite interesting to me that none of the artists focused on the red peerie patterns in the purse, and only one  on the purse itself. Instead, there was much about being lost, of trying to find one's way, and of the peat, which is such a potent symbol of so many parts of Shetland. One small thing I noticed was that Andrea Williamson's knitted stocking inside the felt boot had what looked like small Norwegian flags in the pattern -- a pointer toward his identity and origins?  There is so much here that I will be thinking about your work for some time to come!

 Dr Carol A Christianson
'Curator/Community Museums Officer
Shetland Museum & Archives

'i grew up aware of the gunnisterman and i always did find the story inspiring. when the news came that the gunnistermans possessions were coming back to Shetland for exhibit, shetland arts were invited by Shetland  museum and archives to contribute to the event with something contemporary. this provided an opportunity to have a new take on heritage product and a time to challenge local craft makers to work in an area/method they didnt normally use. it was based on looking at the research,having group discussions and a chance to have theories of who the gunnisterman was, why he was carrying what he was carrying,what he might need to have in order to survive if in fact 'gunnisterman' was a man or woman and all the thoughts that a creative group might have. for the shetland makers it is a chance to work away from their normal routine from making product for selling. the work on exhibit is just the beginning and the makers will go on to develop the work'

hazel hughson shetland arts 
taken from audio by mary blance

gman images are gradually being loaded onto flickr.

more information on individual artists to come soon.

a small preview of some of the work:
more to come on the gman..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
shetland organic wool, felt, resin, linen, tweed, ribbon, zebrano wood, peat, coins , nylon


gman@shetland museum
twitter

sat nav sock

silk, wool, shetland wool.glow in dark thread

over the next few days i will be adding the images and information on the artists who have been involved in making for the gman project

jennifer tait,donna smith, emma blain, claire henry,
cecil tait, hilary seatter, suzanne shearer, anne eunson, andrea williamson, shona millar, jono sandilands, mary blance

In preparation for the Gman project installation in the museum tomorrow we have been listening to the beautiful voices of shetland makers speaking of the process of making products for the gman contemporary craft project.

intervewed by mary blance , shetland author , broadcaster and cultural activist 10 artists speak of their process and of who they think the gman is

• a travelling boy?


• a gentleman?


• woman?


• pirate ?


• tax collector ?


• a clothes theif?


• a sailor ?
• a merchant?


• or does it matter who he is ? should we let him lie?

glow in the dark darning

foot of the sock different to the top of the sock ?

heavily mended socks

'one sock has the foot replaced by the leg of another stocking'

'feet of the socks are worn away and have been replaced by another material.. there are holes at the knees, some roughly mended

......no foot to the stocking ...'

lap = (n) a patch , a covering put on for the purpose of mending, as on a shoe or the board of a boat etc

safe socks

socks with toes that glow in the dark

tak dy sock

taking your knitting for a walk in shetland

barter dy sock

socks were a very important bartering item during 17th and 18th c for shetlanders trading with Dutch fishermen who dominated commercial fishing in shetlandwaters from around 1600. crews lived on board their ships and had supplies to last the summer. however they also got fresh food from shetlanders and most important was the bartering of socks. in return dutchmen gave the shetlanders tobacco , gin and cash.

sock = knitting
sockin =(n) stocking

back to socks ....

look at these for a pair of socks

1640 -69 a bit early for gman but interesting all the same

.........buttons printed with maps, socks with colourways designed from flags, jewellery made with ribbon and resin, felt jewellery , hats and purse, woolen threads printed with text.......................more to come on the gman contemporary craft project www.twitter.com/gunnisterman

gman logo created by Jono Sandilands

www.jonosandilands.com

gman and mending

knitting mended with weaving


weaving mended with knitting

tweave: an exciting project coming up where twitters are used to create a virtul woven fabric.
http://www.tweave.co.uk/
gmans tweets : http://twitter.com/gunnisterman

gman lost ?

a sat nav watch


invented in 1920 the original sat nav wristwatch relied on good old fashioned paper maps wound around wooden rollers








or a much more contemporary take on getting lost in Gunnister some nat nav shoes to help find the way


http://www.reevoo.com/decidewhattobuy/2009/04/gadget-watch-sat-nav-shoes/

walking in windy shetland weather looking at your knees

sat nav screen strategically placed on the knees of a sock?

glow in the dark embroidered map for walking on dark evenings?

during 17th and 18th C a trade in stockings as established with the Hanseatic merchants and the Dutch fishermen. I explored this theme in the making of 'gin socks' for an exhibition 'dangers of sewing and knitting' in 2005. 3 socks could be bartered for a pint of gin.
http://craftscotland.org/dangersofknittingreview.html .. i hope to develop the idea further with socks relating to gman... a combination of both past and present in a prototype for a sat nav sock to help gman find his way.

photographs by Phat Sheep photography

http://www.photography.phatsheep.co.uk/

personas and scenarios in design

priority user : gman identity unknown
what activites was he doing ?
immerse in his world
needs /motivation /activities/ problems

'due to lack of roads in shetland at the time many travelled by foot. Perhaps he lost his way or had an accident which hampered mobility, both of which could result in death by exposure or starvation '

'the fact he was wearing alot of clothes when buried could indicate it was cold when he died, during winter snow storms people often lost their way.. '

gmans socks mended with another pair of socks

timper; walking very slow with careful selection of foot placement so as to minimise getting unsuitable footwear wet or dirty in difficult conditions

http://shetlanddictionary.com/

where was he walking? lost ? in need of a map? some satalite navigation ?

navigation toe ring by Ideo

'GPS toes are toe rings that communicate to a server kept in a purse or worn on a belt. wearing one on each foot, the gps device will guide the wearer to a preset destination by vibrating and lighting up to signal upcoming direction changes'

www.ideo.com/work/item/technojewellery/

www.slowlab.net/gps%20drawing.html

gman : ( short for government man) is slang for the federal bureau for investigation agent FBI

gman: the term gman was used in ireland as a reference to the detectives of the Dublin metropolitan police forces g division

nail

hair

bone

wool

wood

horn

bronze

silver

leather

whats needed is a private investigator to work out just what happened the Gunnister man..

a contemporary PI to investigate a mystery in history....

'Sherlock holmes, Hercule Poirot, or an individual with a thermos conducting an all night vigil for suspected infidelity: private investigators provide services including surveillance and employee theft, they trace missing persons; advise companies on security measures, including de-bugging and preventing industrial espionage'

what makes a good investigator?

academic qualifications are not necessary, says Peter Keims (of the Association of British Investigators) ' patience, common sense and tenacity are the important qualities. I once employed my elderly aunt simply because she was very thorough .. and she didnt look like a detective'