Remarkable new exhibition chronicles build of Royal Navy titans at the home of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth

Seven years of chronicling the construction of the Royal Navy’s newest destroyers and monolithic aircraft carriers are the inspiration forShipyard, a remarkable exhibition by renowned Scottish artist Lachlan Goudie which opens at The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on 17 March.

This is the first showing of Goudie’s Shipyard in England, following its successful launch in Scotland. The opening follows the much-heralded arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth into her home port, Portsmouth, during 2017.

For the last seven years renowned artist, writer and broadcaster, Lachlan Goudie, who was a contributor on BBC’s Big Painting Challenge, has had special access to sketch and paint in the BAE shipyards on the Clyde and Forth.

Goudie is a Scottish artist who first developed a fascination with shipbuilding whilst growing up on the Clyde. As a child, it was the past glory days of ‘Clydebuilt’ ships that captured his imagination, not the stark reality of industrial decline that he witnessed. Hence when construction on the Royal Navy’s newest and biggest aircraft carrier commenced, he was determined to document the monumental engineering project and record modern shipbuilding.

Lachlan Goudie said: “I am immensely proud to be exhibiting at The National Museum of the Royal Navy. The time I spent documenting the construction of the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Class carriers was an extraordinary experience. Art belongs everywhere and even amidst the noise and bustle of heavy engineering I was staggered by the unusual beauty and colour of ship construction.

“For seven years I have been embedded in Scotland’s two surviving shipyards at Govan and Rosyth. Over that period I have produced paintings, drawings and sculptures documenting both the awesome engineering processes undertaken in the yards and the portraits of the workers whose lives are entwined with these locations.

“This body of work represents my visual fascination with a neglected industrial landscape that risks disappearing before our eyes: the legacy of an industry that has shaped Scotland’s identity and the magnificent flagships of the Royal Navy which are the latest products of that long established tradition.”

Professor Dominic Tweddle, Director General of The National Museum of the Royal Navy said: “The intensity and scale of Lachlan’s work is staggering. It reflects these titans of engineering and the skill of the men and women who build them. We are delighted to showcase his work. It is particularly pertinent as we are now on the doorstep of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth when she is in port, so our visitors really can compare and contrast!”

Goudie has drawn on hundreds of images he created at Scotstoun, Govan and Rosyth over a seven year study between 2009 and 2016. He works quickly to produce detailed sketches in pen and ink or pencil before working them up into larger oil or gouache paintings. The artworks range up to 3m x 2m in size and across a wide range of mediums. These include oil and gouache paintings, pen and ink drawings, sketches, sculptures, wood cuts and large charcoal portraits.

Entry to the exhibition is included as part of the Annual All Attraction ticket. For further details about the exhibition and to buy a ticket, please visit http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/shipyard-lachlan-goudie

I Am Only Human After All film premiere

Portsmouth Film Society (PFS) continues to deliver on its mission to help break down social barriers and unite diverse cultures with the premieres of four short films on 30 May at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. Portsmouth citizens from all backgrounds have come together to tell their stories. Many people will be able to identify with the difficult subjects of these films; homelessness, substance misuse and recovery, disability and multiculturalism. Whether they have experience of these topics themselves, or only in passing, PFS hopes that projects like these will encourage discussion amongst their viewers. These short films are the result of a 20-week course held at the University of Portsmouth where participants were introduced to all aspects of film-making including script writing, casting, directing, filming and editing. They then became the producers, directors, screenwriters and actors in their own films. The program also included lectures by local film makers and an...

Indonesian fried spring rolls (Lumpia Goreng)

I don't often make Indonesian food because the ingredients are hard to find, but our local supermarkets are getting better at stocking ethnic ingredients. In the frozen section of Tesco, near the samosas, you can find the spring roll pastry. Don't bother asking the branch in Chester. I was laughed at by the cashier when I asked for spring roll skin, because 'skin' is what we call the wrapper in Indonesian. Her more helpful colleague offered me filo pastry instead, which can be a good substitute. I'm afraid no one in Chester has yet to taste my amazing spring rolls as a result. Friends in Southsea are luckier! Here are the ingredients to make 30 spring rolls (the packs come in 30 or 40 pieces) 1 medium head of cabbage, thinly sliced 2 carrots, julienned 1 red or yellow pepper, julienned 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 1 medium courgette, julienned 1 tablespoon of Oyster sauce (omit if cooking for vegan) 2 tbsp soy sauce salt and pepper to taste 1 tbsp vegetable oil f...

Feature on Bubble&

Southsea has a monthly farmers market which I really love because Palmerston precinct where it's held becomes even more alive and buzzing. It is also a perfect opportunity to find some fresh or unusual local produce, that's not available in the local supermarkets. I also love meeting the vendors and chatting with them online, anticipating the next market. So I decided that I should really feature some of them on this page. Before the last market, I received a sweet tweet from @BubbleandMarita which prompted a conversation about bubble and squeaks, suitable toppings and the idea of this posting. So let me introduce you... Bubble& is a local street food phenomenon that has redefined bubble and squeak as we know it. They have created gourmet, gluten-free bubble and squeak cakes in a range of flavours that you can eat hot on their market stall with a soft poached egg, bacon and hollandaise sauce. They are so good, you may also want to take them home. So they have designe...

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