New Aberdeen Bestiary: The Unicorn - Sadie Main (with Jonathan Comerford)

About

The unicorn is the seventh and the last animal of the New Aberdeen Bestiary. It emerges from the long-lasting collaboration between artist Sadie Main and Peacock printmaker Jonathan Comerford, a collaboration began in the early 1980s at the Cyrenians print workshop, in Aberdeen.

Sadie loves animals, real ones. Although not into mythical creatures, she makes the exception for unicorns, because she is Scottish.

The unicorn appears as a supporter of the royal coat of arms of Scotland as early as the 14th century (2). Originally, two unicorns faced each other, but with the 1603 Union of the Crowns with England, one was dropped in favour of a lion. Fiercely strong and independent, the unicorn is to this day the national animal of Scotland.

The unicorn in the Aberdeen Bestiary is called monoceros; a creature with “a magnificent, marvellous horn [that] projects from the middle of its forehead, four feet in length, so sharp that whatever it strikes is easily pierced with the blow.” (3) The text states that although the monoceros can be killed, it cannot be captured or domesticated.

It can be found throughout Scotland, on top of Mercat Crosses. These designated the places where markets could be held. In the Castlegate, 50 metres away from our gallery the worm — where this exhibition takes place — is Aberdeen’s Mercat Cross, adorned with a white unicorn.

The Mercat Cross unicorn is difficult to see with the naked eye, as it is placed high on the structure. This project takes a closer look at it, leading it down from its pedestal and into our printmaking studio, then on into the gallery.

In the studio, the relationship between the artist and the printmaker is paramount. The artist sketches, chooses a colour scheme, imagines a feel for the project. Then the printmaker assists in finding suitable printmaking processes to turn that vision into physical reality and material culture. Despite a hiatus of 30 years, the alignment – one might call it an artistic rapport — between Sadie and Jonathan is stronger than ever.

The result is extraordinary. Bright colours, gold and silver, with superimposed drawings create a feast for the eyes. There are direct references to the ‘original’ bestiary unicorn but made with the detachment and freedom of an artist serene and contented with their practice.

We've come full circle. The New Aberdeen Bestiary has an Aberdonian artist. And Sadie and Jonathan, the artist and the printmaker, are once again at work together. This new collaboration completes the arc from youth to maturity for them both. As a young artist, Sadie was in a situation of homelessness, whilst as a young printmaker Jonathan was in exile from apartheid South Africa. Aberdeen is not only where they first met, but where they have both mastered their skills.

In choosing the unicorn, a creature that is mythical, but more importantly, untamed, the duo chose to be fiercely independent, to reimagine the world anew. They chose to break from the constraints of day-to-day experience.