Anne Bevan is artist in residence for Orkney: Beside the Ocean of Time, a multi-disciplinary research project which examines layers of time and change from a range of perspectives, from the slow geological shift of deep time to our more rapid human development and intervention.

Concentrating her activity on a section of the Stromness West Shore, with its dramatic backdrop of constant cross currents and the swell of Hoy Sound, Anne has taken as a ‘sample’, a local area rich in geology, natural and social history, a source of inspiration for artists and poets. 

The project has enabled Anne to explore a very familiar place in new and different ways. As well as walking, drawing and making, it has involved her in conversations with local experts, about geology, marine biology, energy and archaeology, as well as engaging with the many stories, histories and memories evoked by the West Shore. 

The exhibition takes the form of an open studio, gathering together responses to the West Shore through video, sculpture, drawing and print.

The project is a partnership between Falmouth University, University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Glasgow and Brunel University London and the Pier Arts Centre and is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC).The range of disciplines involved in the project includes Social Anthropology, Archaeology, Palaeoecology, Geology, Literature and Visual Art.