Selfridges coracle

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09 April 2015

During January and February, a Teifi coracle from the National coracle centre made by Peter Davies of Cenarth was on show at Selfridges department store in Oxford Street, London. An artist formerly from Pembrokeshire was one of fourteen people selected to create a display within the store. He chose a theme based on boats and asked if I could lend him a coracle. The coracle was suspended from an anchor over one of the escalators in the store.

Martin Fowler


Bright Old Things

In a twist to Selfridges annual showcase of up and coming new talent, this year’s campaign celebrates a retirement renaissance.  Fourteen artists and designers who have embraced a new vocation later in life have each given a window to exhibit their work. They were also asked to name an object that inspires them for a large installation inside the Oxford Street building’s central atrium. Michael Lisle-Taylor a former Fleet Air Arm aircraft engineer turned sculptor proposed a coracle.

The coracle/currach has figured regularly in his art practice over the years. A familiar object from his childhood in Pembrokeshire, its simple construction is globally synonymous with the first maritime vessels. He sees it as an icon of the pioneering spirit of sailors, their craft and relationship with the sea. The several years spent on Cold War patrols in the Arctic and North Atlantic ignited a deep adoration for the early Atlantic seafarers. The legacy of the coracle remains a great interest form pre-history, through the Celtic/Norse voyages to the collapsible special operations boats of the military.

Martin Fowler of the National Coracle Centre at Cenarth Falls generously loaned the coracle to the exhibition. A tour of the displays and exhibits in his museum immediately dispels any notion of the coracle being a localized folk craft. The coracle has been a fundamental tool for negotiating bodies of water, be it cultural purposes, fishing, migrating, escaping or exploring. This genre of vessel could well have existed in near all societies for all history.

As part of Lisle-Taylor’s concept a huge chain connects the coracle to an equally large ships anchor. The assemblage is hung alongside an interesting yet random selection of the other artist’s objects. His window contains the sculpture ‘Ginnungagap’ which draws from coracle construction, Norse mythology and our geological past. The show ran through January and February 2015 in Selfridges Oxford Street, London

Michael Lisle-Taylor