The Oil Man and the Stag
Artist
Sue Jane Taylor
(Dingwall, Scotland, born 1960)
Date1989
Object NameEtching
MediumInk
ClassificationsNorth Sea Oil and Gas Industries
Dimensionsframed- 127 x 98 x 2.5 (cm)
paper size- 107 x 79 (cm)
paper size- 107 x 79 (cm)
AcquisitionPresented in 2012 by Sue Jane Taylor.
Copyright© Sue Jane Taylor (2018)
LocationOn Display - Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Object numberABDAG013307
About MeAll human activity has an impact upon the natural environment. The need for energy by the population of Britain and the industries that produce it are perhaps more visible in their immediate impact.The ‘Oil Man’ of the title is wearing the ubiquitous ‘hard hat’ and stands behind the stag and beside a tree which represent the natural forces. This sympathetic image shows an oil worker not as the clichéd faceless ‘big business’ but as an ordinary person who is doing their job.
The work references the 7:84 production by John McGrath "The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black Black Oil" which toured Scotland as the impact of the offshore industries was being felt upon the scattered communities in Scotland. The action centres around the clearances, the introduction of large shooting estates and latterly the impact of the 'oil boom' on the local population and the environment.
