Making An Entrance

The Portological Art of Lewis & Harris

• A form of art has been practised widely throughout Lewis and Harris for many years.
• It is supremely imaginative, combining sculpture, texture and the liberal use of colour.
• It is practised by people who would not regard themselves as artists, and their creations often represent the only direct artistic statement they will ever make.
• The results range from bizarre to beautiful.
• All examples of this art form are large and prominently sited in public view, yet hardly anyone notices its existence. It is just part of the landscape and we pass it by without a blink. Well, the time has come to amend that situation because the art seems to be fading. We want to celebrate its achievements before it dies completely. So, in the next few issues of Driftnet, we intend to bring you a representative selection of Hebridean gateposts. Scroll on, wonder, and enjoy.

Glossary Of Portological Terms

Automotive		Having parts from a motor vehicle.
Avian		Having representations of birds.
Aztec		Stepped
Bestial		Having animal parts or representations.
Biblate		Having a representation of the bible.
Botanic		Having plant growth.
Brickette		Having an imitation brickwork effect.
Cardiac		Heart-shaped.
Crustate		Incorporating sea shells.
Dormesque		Made from a bed.
Global		Having a spherical crown.
Gnomic		Having representations of gnomes.
Illuminated		Having a light.
Incognate		Applied to a feature that cannot be identified.
Moderne		Being notably modern in appearance.
Monolithic		Unusually large.
Moulded		Having a crown cast in concrete from a mould.
Trouvate		Incorporating found objects.
Ordinaire		Being notably standard in appearance.
Pyramidic		Having a crown in the shape of a pyramid.
Rockoco		(Marine) Featuring freely occurring sea stones.
Rockoco		(Sharp) Featuring freely occurring field stones.
Rotunda		Having a rounded, but straight-sided crown.
Shambolic		Expressing considerable freedom of form.
Spined		Topped with spiny projection(s).
Telegraphic		Incorporating insulators from old telegraph poles.

Mature Pyramidic with cruciform spining.	Ordinaire rendered out-of-the-ordinaire by the addition of biblate mouldings.
The trouvate addition to this demi-aztec is a gear from a Harris Tweed loom.	Leonine bestial with mono-crustate addition.
A dramatic pair of raised equine bestials.	The sportive trouvate addition (curling stones) adds interest and impact to these standard modernes.
An exceptionally fine gnomic aztec.	A pair of raised-stripe rotundas flank a section of mechanistic wall.
Wild botanic encroachment on mature pyramidic.	Beautifully painted trouvate crowns.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of An Lanntair (The Lantern Gallery), Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, where these photographs were first exhibited.