Between the Cliffs and the Sea: Remote Heritage and St. Kilda

• Main Author: Jaramillo, George Steve
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://radar.gsa.ac.uk/4024/; http://radar.gsa.ac.uk/4024/1/Between%20the%20CLiffs%20and%20the%20Sea.pdf

The story of St. Kilda, an island in the North Atlantic, is not only a story of the disastrous nature of human evacuation and environmental entanglements, but is also a global story of how heritage and tourism can be creatively approached. Dually inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, St. Kilda is an example of a remote site whose significance has grown ever since it has been devoid of human habitation. Today, that same remoteness is what attracts thousands of visitors to the island and the Outer Hebrides, Scotland; however, the sensitive nature of the site proves difficult for physical visitation. This project explores the remote storytelling possibilities that can come about the idea of ‘preservation from afar’, posing the question of how a relationship can develop between the ‘authentic’ and the digital. The author and champion of the Everglades, Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1993) wrote, ‘to be a friend of the Everglades is not necessarily to spend time wandering around there…I know it’s out there and I know its importance’. In this sense, it is not necessary to physically visit a place to understand the significance of a place. This project thus focuses on how ‘remote-access’ preservation can be a driver in the development of Ionad Hiort or St. Kilda Centre on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. It uses the current development between the community of Uig, Lewis, the Glasgow School of Art and other institutions in developing the remote capabilities of the island’s heritage, identity, and natural history. The project brings together remote sensing technologies, photogrammetry, augmented and virtual reality technologies to not only tell the story of St. Kilda but to provide a new and immersive space for cultural heritage. It also questions ideas of authenticity, narrative tracking, and the material and immaterial cultures in a digital age.