about our projects

As Others See Us

To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns we produced a major exhibition and accompanying publication featuring a series of portraits of Scots and adopted Scots prominent in their field. Each sitter was asked to produce a small body of text, a response to a Burns quote communicating their own view of the relevance of Burns today. This unique, innovative photographic project aimed to heighten awareness and appreciation of Robert Burns whilst showcasing the talents of some of today’s most noteworthy Scots. The blend of considered responses from the sitters and the use of contemporary portraiture produces a body of work that is interesting, informative, engaging, amusing and thought provoking. It opened at the Scottish Parliament on Burns night and was exhibited extensively in Scotland including at the National Gallery of Scotland. It was also shown in New York, Chicago, Brussels and Sydney clocking up over 500,000 visitors. The sitters include Alan Cumming, Brian Cox, Ashley Jensen, Peter Capaldi, Eddie Reader, Edwin Morgan, Peter Howson, Denise Mina, Janice Galloway, Ian Rankin, Hardeep Singh Kohli, Peter Capaldi, Eddi Reader and The Proclaimers.

Ebook: Featuring stunning portraits and recorded recitals by the actors Alan Cumming, Brian Cox, Ashley Jensen and Scots Makar (National Poet for Scotland) Jackie Kay. Plus personal views on the life and works of Robert Burns from numerous celebrities.. With a beautiful rendition of 'a man's a man for a' that' by Ian F. Benzie. This ebook is a beautiful celebration of one of the world's most loved poets.

Purchase the ebook for £2.99 from Blurb via PayPal click here.

Purchase a signed (£22.50 exc p&p) or an un-signed (£12.50 exc p&p) copy of the book by contacting us using our contact form here.

Hear actor Brian Cox reading his chosen poem here.

Sitters include: Alan Cumming, actor / Ian Rankin. crime novelist / Ashley Jensen, actor / Jackie Kay, poet / Tom Kitchin, chef / Nicola Benedetti, musician / The Proclaimers, musicians / peter Howson, artist / Kirsty Wark, journalist and broadcaster / Hardeep Singh Kohl, commedian, chef and broadcaster / Christopher Brookmyre, novelist / Walter Nimmo, entrepereneur and musician / Denis Mina, novelist / Janice Kirkpatrick, designer / Janice Galloway, novelist / Aamer Anwar, human rights lawyer

Faces of Mackie's

Mackie's of Scotland is a family run company that produces high quality ice cream, crisps and chocolate for the local and international market. Unusually, the Mackie’s products are all made on their farm near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Everyone on the farm is on first name terms and the number of real families within the Mackie's ‘family’ is surprising. Husbands and wives, mothers and sons, brothers and sisters all work closely together in a friendly, highly productive manner.

Karin Hayhow (Mackie's Marketing Director) knows how special this is and so commisioned us to produce a project we had discussed portraying all members of staff. The portraits were taken in each sitter’s working environment. In addition to being photographed the sitters were interviewed and a quote from the inteview was selected to accomapny their final portrait.

The portraits have been used by Mackie’s on their website, on social media and in publicity materials.

Building Sights

What is your favourite building in Scotland? This was the seemingly simple question Tricia Malley and Ross Gillespie put to six people.

What makes a building a 'favourite'…there may be many answers. Is it the design, the atmosphere, the emotional response that it evokes or the fond memories it helps a person recall? The answer is different for each individual and the reasons can be deep and meaningful or light and frivolous.

Buildings are important to us in a number of ways. They give us protection and sanctuary but they can also deliver on other levels: they can be a place to be contemplative, a place to have fun, a place to learn, or simply a place to enjoy. We often associate our favourite buildings with good memories and strong emotions...where would you choose? Would it be with your head or your heart?

The sitters: Alison Watt, artist / Dougie Henshall, actor / Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies / Muriel Gray, author & broadcaster / Dougie Payne, musician

See a short video of the portraits here.

Entrepreneurial Scotland

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