Opposite the key-cutting stand in Dundee’s Keiller Centre shopping precinct, something surreal and rather wonderful is unfolding.
Pop in at the right time and you can follow the adventures of a buoy that breaks free from its position off the East Neuk and travels the globe.
This art project, titled KY-10 after the name of the buoy, offers a feast for the eyes and ears, thanks to its two creators.
How it all began
The story is the brainchild of Keny Drew, a contemporary stained glass specialist who runs East Neuk Glass outside Pittenweem.
His partner in this endeavour is Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote – a key figure in the area’s music scene as part of Fence Collective – who has helped set the story to music.
Keny was inspired to imagine the story of a lost buoy while sat on Crail’s harbour watching one bobbing on the water, the eponymous local postcode written on its surface.
While he has exhibited work before, Keny has never attempted anything on this scale, the artist admits.
“It was only ever sounds and glass to start off with,” he says. “And the whole music thing’s new to me, I’ve never performed live before.
“It’s just spiralled into much more – an album and live gigs – because we both like doing it, I think.
“Kenny’s my neighbour and we have a very strange way of working: we just pass tapes to each other. I’ll record something, then he’ll slow it and down and add a bit, so we’re feeding off each other.”
KY-10 is currently on show at The Federation, gallery owner Kathryn Rattray’s recently opened space in the Keiller.
It features Keny’s work from a comic series begun in 2019 that tells the story of the buoy and his “bipolar” seagull sidekick, based on the Norse god Odin’s pair of ravens Huginn and Muninn.
The artist is also presenting a series of illustrated glass plates, some artfully lit from behind, to further immerse visitors in his strangle tale.
Narrated by a fisherman
On a set of headphones, you can listen to episodes of the story narrated by East Neuk fisherman Ronnie Hughes, discovered thanks to the richly toned voice-overs he has delivered for exhibits at the Scottish Fisheries Museum, Anstruther.
These have been set to a mix of music and sound by Keny and his musical partner, though KY-10 properly comes alive when the duo perform live chapters of the buoy’s story.
From Scotland’s east coast, it heads into the Atlantic and even further, following real-life currents that circulate water around the world.
From folklore to current affairs
Along the way, the floating object experiences a variety of encounters, from a turtle in distress to a gang of pirates, forming a beguiling combination of folklore, environmental messages and current affairs.
KY-10 is often a passive bystander in these proceedings, but for Keny that is a key point to get across.
“It’s about the beautiful stuff in the oceans and the horrific stuff, but it’s also about slowing down,” he says.
“Taking a wee rest from mobile phones and trying to take notice of the things happening around you.”
Keny and his musical partner are performing on Saturday afternoons in April at the Keiller, with the final installment due next week.
There’s also an appearance at a Fence Collective all-dayer in Anstruther this Saturday that also features a King Creosote set, alongside Lonepigeon, Pip Dylan and more.
On April 29, the buoy arrives at The Vine on Magdalen Green, Dundee, when all episodes will be performed together.
The journey is not over
KY-10’s adventures are to be continued, with Keny considering a move from working on glass to trying out different methods of printing such as photograph cyanotypes on editions that could be released as posters rather than comics.
The artist originally studied and worked in photography, moving to the hands-on approach of glass in preference to the emergence of digital technology, admitting that his work is often a painstaking process.
“There’s people that still subscribe waiting for the next set,” he explains ruefully, perhaps realising that a larger audience could now await the latest installment of KY-10.
KY-10 is on show at The Federation, Keiller Centre, Dundee. KY-10 perform at Fence Presents Routesman, Dreel Halls, Anstruther, April 16, Keiller Centre, April 23 and The Vine, Dundee, April 29.
