Dr Mairi MacPherson, Easter Ross, Scotland
1. What is your object and how did it come to be in your possession?
My object is two of my tattoos – they are taken from the frontispiece of Fingal (1761/62) by James Macpherson (1736-1796). I did my PhD on James and he has been my constant companion these 15 years.
2. Why have you chosen this object for the Macphersoniana project?
I chose my tattoos because they are unique, and combine my love of historical research and my passion for the clan and its museum. I wanted to choose an object that wouldn’t be able to be exhibited in a museum (other than through images) – not a physical thing that could be picked up and moved.
3. Why is this object important to you and what does it mean to you?
I used to be very afraid of needles, but this changed when I had to have lots of blood drawn during a period of ill-health. The same ill-health led to me having to give up my job as academic, and I got the tattoos to mark this part of my life. I have always enjoyed the image they are taken from, and having the two figures on my arms has been a joy.
4. What does this object tell us about what it means to be a Macpherson?
To me these figures represent the Macphersons love of storytelling, and the extent to which they are embedded in Gaelic culture. James himself was a Macpherson who genuinely changed the world – the Ossianic Collections of which Fingal is a part were a bestseller and a large contributor to the newfound appreciation of mountainous landscapes that led tourists to start exploring the Highlands in the later eighteenth century.
Macphersoniana 