Leith Folk & Lore: Artist Morvern Graham brings Leith’s folk tales to life at debut exhibition

An art exhibition celebrating Leith folk tales premieres at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall this Friday

Leith’s folk tales and mythology will be at the forefront of an art exhibition that premieres this weekend, including an original tale portraying the on-going tram project that sees an angry dragon assume a metaphorical role to reflect a frustrated general public.

Titled Leith Folk & Lore, the thought provoking exhibition opens this Friday at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall and will run until May 26. Local artist, Morvern Graham, who has been an artist in residence at the Out of the Blueprint studios for the last two months will showcase Leith’s vibrant history and culture through a collection of sculptural puppets, 3D installations and printed text, using vibrant printing techniques to bring old and new stories to life.

Morvern said: “The original idea was to depict the historical stories of Leith and create a historical anthology of folk tales. I’ve lived in Leith my whole life, it’s got such a rich history being a former harbour town, but it has changed a lot in the last 25 years.”

Morvern Graham, who graduated with a first class BA Hons in Illustration last summer, said her modern mythical story was a way to continue the trend of storytelling. She said: “I wanted to show that folktales aren’t just old, we can make up new ones and bring them into the modern day also”

The freelance artist explained that story telling has always been an integral part of culture and hopes her debut exhibition will bring people together and share community memories. The 24-year-old said: “I wanted to show that folklore isn’t an academic dusty thing that is inaccessible to people. Folklore is just telling stories about who you are and where you come from.

“More people are storytellers than they realise. We used to rely on stories, that’s how we understood ourselves and the landscape around us so it’s a very important part of our culture and I don’t think we should lose that just because we live in a digital age now.”

Using risograph printing techniques – a Japanese form of digital screen printing – Morvern brings two historical Leith stories to life through sculpture and 3D illustrations, with each artwork accompanied by a retelling of the fabled story in a printed book. A third original story, that forms the centrepiece of the exhibition, ‘pokes a bit of fun’ towards the recent tram works.

“It’s meant to be a joyful interpretation of our frustration and anger towards the trams,” Morvern said. The ‘modern interpretation of a folktale’ tells the story of a dragon who has been sleeping beneath Leith Walk for decades that later causes havoc around the city after being awoken by the tram works above. The council then struggle to contain the disgruntled dragon.

The Leith artist has produced work for various clients, self-published a book exploring Scandinavian and Scottish folklore and now the award-winning artist looks forward to her debut exhibition this week that features a 4-metre long dragon sculpture

To discover the creative ending you will have to visit the exhibition – it contains a very entertaining Edinburgh-based joke that offers a new meaning behind a contemporary building that has been mocked by many. Morvern said: “A lot of folklore is rooted in landscapes, creatures turning into mountains or trees. My hope is that when people see that building after reading the story the tale will be rooted in a physical place.

“The tram works have been so prevalent in the Leith community. It’s been quite disruptive but also hilarious in some ways – watching the tram testing with everyone walking alongside as if it was a funeral procession was a funny sight. I think years from now people will still talk about, it will be a part of Leith’s history – residents will remember that period of time when it was really quite tough and we really suffered for it. I want it to be a slight protest but not an angry one necessarily.

“The story is a way of personifying the local mood, making it into a character who’s a little bit pi**ed off essentially. I hope the exhibition brings people together to share stories and teach people something new about the area – I really want it to be a community venture.”

Leith Folk & Lore runs from Mon-Sat 10am-5pm between March 31 to May 26 at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Dalmeny Street.