National Museums Scotland loaned the fifteen foot long sperm
whale skull to Glasgow based Turner Prize nominee Lucy
Skaer. Her work, entitled ‘Leviathan Edge 2009’, includes the
skull of the sperm whale just visible from behind a screen
partitioned with slits and goes on display at the Turner Prize
exhibition until 3 January 2010.
In 1997, a male sperm whale, affectionately christened ‘Moby’ by
locals, swam into the Firth of Forth and beached himself on sand
banks near the village of Airth where he died. Moby’s
skeleton remains in the care of National Museums Scotland’s Natural
Science collections, which is home to several million specimens,
including one of the largest whale collections in the world.
Lucy’s Skaer’s previous work includes detailed drawings,
sculptures and films. She was nominated for the Turner Prize
for her solo exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh and
her show A Boat Used as a Vessel, at the Kunsthalle Basel in
Switzerland.
Lucy Skaer, said:
“I am very excited to be able to include the whale skeleton,
which forms a key part of my new installation. It is great
that National Museums Scotland is open-minded enough to allow such
an experimental collaboration“.
Nick Fraser, Keeper of Natural Sciences at National Museums
Scotland, said:
“I’m sure everyone who remembers Moby will be happy that his
legacy includes making more people aware of the natural sciences
through this unique partnership. National Museums Scotland
aims to make our objects and specimens as accessible as possible so
we’re constantly looking at more innovative ways to bring our
collections to a wider audience - not just in Scotland but
throughout the UK and the rest of the world.”