James N Hutchinson's project Rumours of a New Planet is part of Collective's opening exhibition Affinity and Allusion. Join James for a guided tour and talk about his work, beginning at Canongate Kirk, before walking up Calton Hill to view his drawings in the Library of the City Observatory.
Please note that the meeting point for this tour will be the main gates at Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile.
For his research project Rumours of a New Planet, Glasgow-based artist James N Hutchinson has investigated the life, work and travels of historical figures connected to Calton Hill. These include Margaret Stewart, who made botanical drawings with husband John Herschel in South Africa during the 1830s; geologist Jessica Duncan; Thomas Henderson, first Astronomer Royal for Scotland and prolific amateur astronomer, Thomas Anderson (both of whom were visually impaired). Artworks presented for Affinity and Allusion include an Observers’ Walk audio tour produced with the Royal National Institute for the Blind, a portfolio of botanical drawings produced from a trip to Cape Town retracing Margaret Stewart’s journey and a collection of essays, drawings and rock samples inspired by the travels of Jessica Duncan.