Room 13 Artist's Links: Peter Haining

Peter Haining’s origins are in the Borders of Scotland where the Scots word  ‘haining’ – a sheltered place – is used commonly as a place name. Ref Haining House & the Haining in Selkirk.

In March 2000 Peter Haining cycled from Scotland to Ireland to commence HIBERNIA –  [Haining’s Irish Biketour in Eire & Round N Ireland (Arts)] An intention to cross cultural and political borders as part of a personal portrait of Ireland and document autodidactic art practice throughout  Ireland during which he researched the following:

5 decorated cottages
4 bogwood carvers/sculptors
5 naïve sculptors
2 folkart sculptors
The Tory Island painters
12 naïve painters
John the Painter
Moscow Joe McKinley – 1931 to 2003

HIBERNIA endured until the end of 2005. For most of this period Haining led an  itinerant outdoor lifestyle cycling everywhere and living in a tent.  Each location where a camp was established he called a ‘haining’. 204 of these were mapped – documented – by an A4 or A3 drawing.

Although he lived outside for the greater percentage of this five year period Haining undertook the following residencies as an artist/researcher:

1st September 2000 to 31st January 2001: Artists’ Work Programme, Irish Museum of Modern Art.
1st February to 28th February 2001: Residency at Cill Rialaig, Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry
January/February 2002: Residency at The Curfew Tower, Cushendall, Co Antrim.
November/December 2002: Residency at Cill Rialaig, Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry.
April 2004: Short residency at The Curfew Tower, Cushendall, Co Antrim.
April 2005 : Two week residency at Heinrich Böll Cottage, Achill Island, Co Mayo.

From 08.08.2003 to 08.08.2004 Peter Haining established The Haining at Tintagh thereby bringing together Lallan Scots and Irish Gaelic in a literal translation – the sheltered place at the place of fire.
During this year-long environmental project Haining cultivated a wild garden and documented the site in a series of drawings and digital video.

From 02.09.2004 to 27.07.2005 Peter Haining resided at The Brook, Enniskillen – a border town where he worked part-time as a gardener and self-published his research as a limited edition of cds under the title ‘Independent Artists in Ireland. During this time he also wrote ten artists
profiles for www.CultureNorthernIreland.org under the sub-heading ‘Art Beat’.

During HIBERNIA Haining presented the following lectures:

Developing drawing from source to studio, Burren College of Art, 19th February 2001.

Continuum: thirty years of personal art practice. Inugural Duff Memorial Lecture, West Highland Museum, Fort William, Scotland. August 2001.

Outsider Art In Ireland. The classification of self-taught expression in Ireland. King House, Boyle, 19th October 2001 and Model Arts Centre, Sligo, 31st October 2001.

Naïve Art in Ireland. A  history of naïve painting and sculpture from 1950 to the present showing art from Tory Island to Co Cork including Ulster, illustrated with 55 slides and 2 pieces of video.
Model Arts Centre, Sligo, July 2003 and Traning  Centre, Aras an Chontae, Castlebar, February 2004, An Creagan Arts Centre, Omagh, August 2004.
Cyril Gray Memorial Hall, Dugort, Achill Island, April 2005.

Following the snake from Woody Guthrie via Jean Dubuffet and Naïve Art to the Chauvet Cave. A personal politicised journey. The Ulster Museum 19th March 2004. As part of The Suicide of Objects, an event by Catalyst Arts, Belfast, organised by Julie Bacon.

And published the following articles:

Introduction to catalogue of the art of Eddie Cahil, Exhibition at City Arts Centre, Dublin, July to September 2000.

The Outsider in Irish Art, start magazine, pub South Tipperary Arts Centre, Autumn 2000.

Exploring the Margins of Irish Art, pub circa magazine, Spring 2001.

The Art of the Institution, start magazine, Autumn 2001.

Pete Horobin’s DATA Project, essay for Justified Sinners pub Pocketbooks, Edinburgh.

Art Out of Idleness, start magazine, Spring 2002.

The Destruction of Irish Folk Art, start magazine, Summer 2003.

Working with DS, Room 13 exhibition catalogue, May 2003.

John Baker texts for Flock, Gaggle & Herd exhibition catalogue, Model Arts Centre, Sligo. June 2003.

Outsider Art in Ireland – review, circa magazine Autumn 2003.
 
Naïve Art in Northern Ireland, and Moscow Joe, illustrated articles. <www.CultureNorthernIreland.org> for Linenhall Library, Belfast. May/June
2004.

At the beginning of 2006 Haining assumed responsibility for The Attic Archive in Dundee. The Archive holds DATA- Daily Action Time Archive – 01.01.1980 to 31.12.1989 – by Pete Horobin, the Marshall Anderson Journals & bookworks – 1990 to 1999, and HIBERNIA.

In his curatorial role Peter Haining presented DATA Controlled Access DATA during ‘I confess that I was there’ – an event on the theme of artists’ archives at the University of Ulster in Belfast from 29.11.2006 to 12.12.2006.

For one month – May 22 to June 22 2006 – Peter Haining worked as visiting artist in residence to Room 13 Sapebuso and continues to be closely associated with Room 13 and actively campaigns to establish Room 13s internationally.