Lynn and Linda

Single-channel video, colour, sound, 13 min 48 sec
In collaboration with Dorothy Feaver

Two friends revisit a May Day tradition from their youth.

Lynn and Linda were 17 when they climbed Arthur’s Seat at dawn to wash their faces with dew – an ancient ritual thought to bring young women beauty, fortune and vitality. The local paper published their photograph on the front page, which resurfaces online every 1st May.

Now 50, and bonded by the image, the pair retrace their path up to the exact spot where they were photographed as schoolgirls, until finally, in a moment of magic, they step into their original pose to camera as the sun comes up.

An experiment in timing, the film is a single locked-off shot that explores the effects of image and repetition on memory. The subtly changing light is captured alongside the women’s conversation. Each holds a mirror to the other, witnesses to the course their lives have taken.

A collaboration between Dorothy Feaver and Stella Scott, friends since secondary school.