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New exhibition highlights the story of how Stroma became an abandoned island

A red telephone box on the deserted island of Stroma. Pic: Alan Hendry.
A red telephone box on the deserted island of Stroma. Pic: Alan Hendry.

The phone in the classic red booth has not rung for years, and the school building has long been empty.

Houses are scattered across the landscape, an the church still stands – though the windows are gone.

Mystery shrouds Stroma, off the Caithness coast, which has been uninhabited since 1962.

Now an exhibition on the island will tell the stories of those who lived there, through sound compositions, sculptures and items uncovered.

At its height, there were 375 residents in 1901, but that figure had fallen to just over 100 by 1949. Within the next 13 years, the departures increased to the stage where there were just 12 people left and it was no longer viable for them to continue living there.

The exhibition will be staged at Lyth Arts Centre, Scotland’s most northerly mainland festival venue.

Mountains Underwater: Stroma has been created by collaborative artists Mara Marxt Lewis and Tyler Lewis and is one of a series of immersive installations which focus on the many deserted islands across the region.

In addition to Stroma, the centre will also feature a special section dedicated to Sutherland’s Eilean nan Ron, which has been uninhabited since 1938.

Stroma has been uninhabited since 1962. Pic: Alan Hendry.

The foyer space has been opened up to the local artists and will host a series of different activities. This includes research from the University of the Highlands and Islands, stories from the local RNLI Wick lifeboat station, paintings, photographs and even a recording of the last baby who was born on Stroma 60 years ago.

Charlotte Mountford, Lyth Arts Centre’s co-director, said: “At a time when the Highlands is faced with depopulation as well as the threat of climate change on our Caithness coast and landscape, we want this exhibition to ask visitors ‘what can we learn from Stroma?’

“Art can bring to life the stories, atmosphere and architecture of history and of places.

“So, without taking the trip over the Pentland Firth, we hope the exhibition will conjure up some of the incredible atmosphere on the island and give us pause for thought as we look into the future.”

The event features an eclectic series of talks, readings, performances and workshops when it opens to the public next weekend.

It will run from July 6-September 1. For more information visit www.lytharts.org.uk