Can’t we imagine people who have colour concepts which are other than ours…?
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Remarks on Colour
Edinburgh based artist and poet Alec Finlay worked with us in 2013/14 on the Hielan' Ways project.
The Scottish landscape is embedded with place-names, many printed on maps, many more held in people's memories. Despite the intermittently dour hues of the climate, many of these names derive from colours and describe a colourful world. This lexicon bears the influence of Norse, Gaelic, Pictish, and Scots, as well as English, sometimes reflecting conflict or incomprehension between these cultures. Some names are poetic, others ironic, but they invariably refer to reality, and can be traced back to elements of the landscape. And so we wonder, are The Cairngorms, The Blue Hills, or Am Monadh Ruadh, The Red Hills, or Binnmach duibh, The Dark Hills?
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Dictionary: Songs, Folklore and Belief
