A new art exhibition is celebrating the political influences of Robert Burns.
The public are being invited to discover the political poetry of Robert Burns with Pith & Power, a brand new exhibition launching at the Saltire Society in Edinburgh, from today.
The artist behind the exhibition, Andrew Redmond Barr, believes 2018 should begin with a celebration of Burns’ political messages of freedom, equality and justice.
In its New Year’s message the United Nations issued a ‘red alert’ for the world, saying that 2017 had been a year of growing inequalities and violations of human rights.
The exhibition will consist of a new series of illustrations and will explore the idea of liberty in the personal, national and international context.
Andrews said: ‘Burns was a humanitarian poet who wrote against oppression and injustice. Pith & Power aims to rediscover the profound meaning behind Burns’ poetry, examine his relationship with power and celebrate his ongoing influence in the Scottish imagination.
discover the political poetry of Robert Burns with Pith & Power
‘The exhibition will explore the political legacy of Burns, which linked ideas of Scottish nationhood to egalitarian principles.
‘I also want to look at the power of language, and why Burns chose to write in Scots whilst others were turning to English in the years following the Act of Union.’
Pith & Power is a rare chance to see a fresh interpretation of Burns, in a format very different to traditional Burns Nights celebrations.
Located at the Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close, 22 High Street, Edinburgh. It is open until 15 March, Monday–Thursday, noon–4pm, and the first two Saturdays (27 January and 3 February, noon–4pm). There is free entry.
Andrew Redmond Barr is a writer and illustrator based in Edinburgh. In 2016 he released his first book, Summer of Independence: Stories from a Nation in the Making (Word Power Books), which was listed in The Scottish Review of Books’ Picks of 2016.
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