Northern Exchange

Northern Exchange investigated the legacy of the Cold War in Northern Scotland as it exists both physically in the landscape, and in memory. This exhibition and public workshops were part of Timespan's Northern Paradigm programme. Bringing together work across sculpture, photography, film, and sound, Northern Exchange encourages a different understanding of Scotland’s remote north through a consideration of the area’s historic significance as a new Front Line for defence against the perceived Soviet threat in the Cold war era. The exhibition title references both nuclear exchange, a term used to describe the firing of nuclear weapons, but also the exchange of memories and recollections that are at the centre of the artists’ collaborative work. The exhibition in Helmsdale draws our attention to the questions that Cold War era history and the nuclear issue raise and invites viewers to take part in a dialogue about experiences and perceptions of this period.