Nick Ross On the Hidden Value of Personal History
Project: Last of the Free, 2016
Words: Nick Ross
In 2011 I moved from Scotland to Sweden to study at Konstfack in Stockholm, and after a few years of living “abroad” (I am half Swedish on my mother’s side) I started to gain a new sense of perspective on my homeland. As the saying goes I felt I was starting to see the forest for the trees. During this period I became more and more interested in the idea of national identity. Looking into the absurdity of the things considered to be Scottish I started to feel a sense of freedom from my newfound understanding, that the concept of national identity is in many cases based on fictional events and altered facts. With this in mind I set out to create my own origin story, using materials and forms found both in ancient stone carvings but also mixing in elements from my own life.
The outcome was the project Last of the Free, where I looked at the role of fiction within the creation of Scotland’s national image. In the project I created a series of objects in local sandstone, one of the most common and overlooked materials in Scotland’s built environment. Growing up in a sandstone house, that was a material I had a long relationship with, but had never considered working with in my practice before.
Go Back to Your Roots
I realised that the best way to create unique work was to look closer to home for inspiration. Seeing things I had disregarded for many years in a new light was an incredible experience—especially the understanding that no one else is digging in the same places.
Delve deep into your origins story. It’s where you’ll find what no one else can.
Nick Ross is a Scottish-Swedish designer whose practice focuses on the complex repertoire of history, where he finds the factors through which to interpret the relationship between the individual and the chosen object or space.
