The Power of Memory was long in evolving in its visual form, but immediately born as an idea while exploring the Highlands in Scotland. In particular, we visited an old kirkyard adjoining the Croik Church. In 1845, people forced out of their homes overnight by landlords who had decided that raising sheep was more profitable than keeping tenants on their lands, camped around the church for several nights, having no place to go. They etched their names and dates into the church windows, leaving a testament of the injustice suffered by victims of what became known as “the Clearances”. While visiting this eerie sight, a friend pointed out that the cuckoo we heard in a nearby tree was a bird that stole other birds’ nests for the purpose of laying its own egg. This ironic revelation led me to think about the similar injustice suffered in 1838 by many eastern Native Americans, particularly the Cherokees, who were forced by the American government to follow the “Trail of Tears” from Georgia to Oklahoma for relocation. This painting is a tribute to both groups of these native peoples who were left with one possession that could never be taken away by another... the power of memory. This painting is owned by Sara Reese.
Ellen Elmes
PO Box SVCC
Richlands, VA 24641-1101
email: ellen.elmes@sw.edu
phone: 276.964.7205
fax: 276.964.7720