Artwork description:

This limited edition of silk screen prints took forever to get made. It has dozens of hand painted stencils, giving it a painterly quality.
This was what Americans would call a garage sale, but in the UK, when in a pubic place, it is called a market. The market was mostly toys and used clothing. This eventually made sense as it was a Victorian rag market (used clothing and cloth scraps for the poor.) It was only one Friday a month, and if the weather was bad (and it almost always was) the vendors would not show up, not a one.
I found it by accident researching the plauge and its effect on Aberdeen. Back in the day, the city had a surrounding wall to keep out the Vikings and eventually the English. There were four entrances, for the cardinal directions, and this is where the north gate was located. It is now a Pay and Display parking lot and supposedly haunted by several specters.
I love Britain, it has layer after layer of history. So, the first spooks have to do with the plauge. They are two sisters. No one was allowed to let in anyone once the plague was confirmed. But a pretty girl convinced the north gate keepers to let in her younger sister. A third of the people died, as the sister was infected.
If you look to the right side of the print, there is a blue door. Next to the door is a brass plaque dedicated to the Knights Templar, who ran a hospital on that location for about 200 years. They died out, and the last one was 'bought out' (so much for hidden gold and the Lost Ark of the Covenant), given a title and some land in the much warmer south. But his brothers are the ghosts in long robes....Finally, during the fight to keep Scotland free, a Laird (Lord) who tried to betray the Scots, was drawn and quartered, his head on a spike a la Game of Thrones, and each quarter was sent to hang at the top of each of the four gates into the city.
Turns out you can write a letter to the head of the University of Aberdeen's library for permission to view one of the Laird's quarters. Of course I wrote the letter and was politely informed of a time and day I could come and respectfully view the remains. They were in a flat glass case, and I think I saw the mummified left arm and shoulder. What can I say? I will try anything once.
With the Gothic reivival building in the distance, on a cold and misty night,when everyone has driven home, it has quite the atmosphere. But I loved the market and the old ladies with their nylon jackets for sale in the WWII baby buggies (prams), having a smoke and asking if I was going down to the warf to get some smoked mackerel, the most divine food on earth.

Materials used:

Arches archival rag with Sericol inks

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