The
TAPLINS
FOR SAM
A chip off the old block
The
TAPLINS Robina Jack Nancy Rose Taplin Guy Taplin
2017
www.messums.com 28 Cork Street, London W1S 3NG  Telephone: +44 (0)20 7437 5545
The Taplin Family Exhibition
T
he Taplin family home, set slightly back on a sandy road leading down to the river at Wivenhoe, might easily be renamed Cornucopia. Inside, past the faded painted panelling, the low succession of rooms is chock-a-block with extraordinary things. Outsized wooden sculptures, model ships, flags, plates and paintings jostle for space and light. It is a place of treats, where your eyes dart hungrily from one thing to another; a place where the created object has been judiciously savoured and hallowed, where the sheer making of things is a joy to behold. Through and on, and outside into the garden, you find your way to the studios, collections of outbuildings to left and right, and you realise it is the family itself – the whole family – that has been driven by this creative impulse, powerfully and engagingly driven on an unstoppable white-water journey of making, that entwines them every day in a constant process of discovery, trial and error, and invention. In one set of studios Guy Taplin makes sculpture that is now hugely sought-after, his instantly recognisable driftwood-base birds being collected with great dedication on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. These are pieces from our collective memory, from the landscape around where Taplin
lives – single birds and flocks, hedgerow birds and waders, rarities and common sights, linnets and sanderlings. Some echo old decoys in their naivety, some – in the arrangement of their beaks and wings – have the sophistication of a snatch of baroque music. In another studio Robina Jack creates her delicious range of ceramics – plates, cups, bowls and pots bedecked with plants and animals and swirls of bright colour, that have charmed collectors as esteemed as HRH The Prince of Wales. Guy and Robina’s daughter Nancy Taplin also works as an artist. She has chosen to paint on ledgers, old account books and discarded journals with beautifully described images of birds (as though escaped from across the way), using tiny strokes of gouache, harking back to more ancient traditions of manuscript art and the age of vellum. In the second in a series of Taplin Family exhibitions, Messum’s is again lucky enough to be bringing together the work of this remarkable family. We are delighted to be staging a show for 2017, and to be highlighting the most recent work of Guy, Robina and Nancy, with all their variety, distinctive energies and insatiable creativity. A Cornucopia indeed.
Guy Taplin
1. Blackbirds
carved and painted driftwood 41 x 46 x 15 cms 16 x 181⁄8 x 57⁄8 ins
2. Great Grey Shrike
3. Bramblings
carved and painted driftwood 34 x 28 x 27 cms 131⁄4 x 11 x 10 5⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 24 x 21 x 18 cms 91⁄4 x 81⁄4 x 71⁄8 ins
4. Reed Buntings
5. Blue Tits
carved and painted driftwood 26 x 27 x 19 cms 101⁄4 x 103⁄8 x 7 1⁄4 ins
carved and painted driftwood 20 x 16 x 14 cms 7 3⁄4 x 61⁄4 x 51⁄2 ins
6. Stonechats
7. Snow Buntings
carved and painted driftwood 22 x 22 x 17 cms 8 3⁄4 x 8 5⁄8 x 6 3⁄4 ins
carved and painted driftwood 24 x 21 x 21 cms 91⁄2 x 81⁄4 x 81⁄4 ins
8. Hoopoes
9. Bluethroats
carved and painted driftwood 51 x 37 x 42 cms 201⁄8 x 145⁄8 x 161⁄2 ins
carved and painted driftwood 28 x 22 x 16 cms 11 x 85⁄8 x 61⁄4 ins
10. Rose-Coloured Starlings
11. Woodchat Shrikes
carved and painted driftwood 31 x 36 x 23 cms 12 x 141⁄8 x 9 ins
carved and painted driftwood 33 x 27 x 21 cms 123⁄4 x 105⁄8 x 81⁄4 ins
12. Hawfinches
13. Waxwings
carved and painted driftwood 30 x 27 x 16 cms 113⁄4 x 105⁄8 x 61⁄4 ins
carved and painted driftwood 31 x 29 x 19 cms 121⁄4 x 113⁄8 x 7 1⁄2 ins
14. Crested Tits
15. Crossbills
carved and painted driftwood 26 x 19 x 13 cms 10 x 7 1⁄2 x 51⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 26 x 25 x 21 cms 101⁄4 x 97⁄8 x 81⁄4 ins
16. Firecrests
17. Wrynecks
carved and painted driftwood 17 x 12 x 10 cms 61⁄2 x 47⁄8 x 37⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 27 x 19 x 20 cms 103⁄8 x 7 1⁄2 x 77⁄8 ins
18. Bee-Eaters
19. Nightjars
carved and painted driftwood 29 x 26 x 42 cms 113⁄8 x 10 x 161⁄2 ins
carved and painted driftwood 25 x 33 x 26 cms 97⁄8 x 13 x 101⁄4 ins
20. Tufted Duck
21. Coot
carved and painted driftwood 14 x 30 x 19 cms 51⁄2 x 113⁄4 x 71⁄2 ins
carved and painted driftwood 13 x 20 x 12 cms 51⁄8 x 77⁄8 x 43⁄4 ins
22. Curlew
23. Sanderling
carved and painted driftwood 64 x 34 x 20 cms 253⁄8 x 133⁄8 x 77⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 42 x 23 x 17 cms 161⁄2 x 9 x 6 3⁄4 ins
24. Mallard
25. Duck
carved and painted driftwood 20 x 51 x 22 cms 77⁄8 x 201⁄8 x 85⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 32 x 39 x 23 cms 125⁄8 x 151⁄8 x 9 ins
26. Curlew
27. Firecrests
carved and painted driftwood 36 x 56 x 11 cms 141⁄8 x 22 x 43⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 26 x 17 x 7 cms 10 x 6 3⁄4 x 23⁄4 ins
29. Robin Snipe 28. Duck
carved and painted driftwood 23 x 36 x 26 cms 9 x 141⁄8 x 101⁄4 ins
carved and painted driftwood 48 x 24 x 16 cms 18 3⁄4 x 91⁄2 x 61⁄4 ins
30. Sanderling
carved and painted driftwood 34 x 22 x 14 cms 131⁄4 x 85⁄8 x 51⁄2 ins
31. Long-Tailed Tits
carved and painted driftwood 33 x 30 x 18 cms 13 x 113⁄4 x 71⁄8 ins
32. Wallcreepers
33. Pied Flycatchers
carved and painted driftwood 27 x 20 x 18 cms 105⁄8 x 77⁄8 x 71⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 24 x 23 x 19 cms 91⁄4 x 9 x 71⁄2 ins
34. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers
carved and painted driftwood 57 x 27 x 21 cms 221⁄2 x 105⁄8 x 81⁄4 ins
35. Goldcrests
carved and painted driftwood 21 x 14 x 10 cms 81⁄4 x 51⁄2 x 37⁄8 ins
36. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers
37. Redstarts
carved and painted driftwood 25 x 20 x 19 cms 95⁄8 x 7 7⁄8 x 71⁄2 ins
carved and painted driftwood 24 x 23 x 17 cms 91⁄2 x 9 x 6 3⁄4 ins
38. Chaffinches
39. Golden Orioles
carved and painted driftwood 32 x 27 x 12 cms 12 3⁄8 x 10 3⁄8 x 43⁄4 ins
carved and painted driftwood 51 x 49 x 18 cms 201⁄8 x 191⁄4 x 71⁄8 ins
40. Robins
41. Nightingales
carved and painted driftwood 29 x 29 x 10 cms 111⁄4 x 111⁄4 x 37⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 42 x 32 x 11 cms 161⁄2 x 125⁄8 x 43⁄8 ins
42. Goldfinches
43. Goldcrests
carved and painted driftwood 26 x 21 x 11 cms 101⁄4 x 81⁄8 x 43⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 30 x 20 x 8 cms 113⁄4 x 77⁄8 x 31⁄8 ins
44. Song Thrushes
45. Yellow Wagtails
carved and painted driftwood 44 x 44 x 23 cms 173⁄8 x 171⁄8 x 9 ins
carved and painted driftwood 34 x 36 x 10 cms 133⁄8 x 141⁄8 x 37⁄8 ins
46. Jays
47. Blackcaps
carved and painted driftwood 62 x 59 x 23 cms 243⁄8 x 231⁄4 x 9 ins
carved and painted driftwood 36 x 29 x 12 cms 14 x 113⁄8 x 43⁄4 ins
48. Dartford Warblers
49. Linnets
carved and painted driftwood 26 x 25 x 11 cms 10 1⁄4 x 95⁄8 x 43⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 29 x 25 x 10 cms 113⁄8 x 97⁄8 x 37⁄8 ins
50. Nuthatches
51. Great Tits
carved and painted driftwood 27 x 25 x 19 cms 105⁄8 x 97⁄8 x 71⁄2 ins
carved and painted driftwood 23 x 23 x 14 cms 9 x 9 x 51⁄2 ins
52. Wrens
53. Willow Tits
carved and painted driftwood 41 x 25 x 17 cms 16 1⁄8 x 97⁄8 x 6 3⁄4 ins
carved and painted driftwood 22 x 18 x 15 cms 81⁄2 x 67⁄8 x 57⁄8 ins
54. Lesser Whitethroats
55. Long-Tailed Tits
carved and painted driftwood 19 x 16 x 15 cms 71⁄4 x 61⁄4 x 57⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 22 x 18 x 18 cms 85⁄8 x 71⁄8 x 67⁄8 ins
56. Yellowhammers
57. Greenfinches
carved and painted driftwood 23 x 23 x 18 cms 9 x 9 x 71⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 25 x 25 x 18 cms 97⁄8 x 95⁄8 x 71⁄8 ins
58. Bearded Tits
59. Black Redstarts
carved and painted driftwood 22 x 24 x 18 cms 85⁄8 x 91⁄2 x 71⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 30 x 24 x 9 cms 113⁄4 x 91⁄2 x 31⁄2 ins
60. Bullfinches
61. Red-Backed Shrike
carved and painted driftwood 33 x 26 x 10 cms 13 x 101⁄4 x 37⁄8 ins
carved and painted driftwood 25 x 22 x 19 cms 95⁄8 x 85⁄8 x 71⁄2 ins
62. Four Swallows
carved and painted driftwood 32 x 39 x 27 cms 125⁄8 x 151⁄8 x 105⁄8 ins
63. 8 Goldfinches
carved and painted driftwood 31 x 45 x 16 cms 12 x 173⁄4 x 61⁄4 ins
64. Long-Tailed Tits
carved and painted driftwood 33 x 46 x 20 cms 123⁄4 x 181⁄8 x 77⁄8 ins
Nancy Rose Taplin
65. Record – Godwit
gouache on paper 32 x 40 cms 121⁄2 x 153⁄4 ins
66. Farm Ledger – Peregrine
gouache on paper 18 x 15 cms 67⁄8 x 53⁄4 ins
67. Wilson’s Phalarope – Cash Book
mixed media/paper 33 x 41 cms 13 x 161⁄8 ins
68. Passage Home – Bee Eater
gouache on paper 18 x 30 cms 71⁄8 x 113⁄4 ins
69. Foxed – Fox
gouache on paper 26 x 31 cms 10 x 121⁄8 ins
70. Geometry Book – Tahitian Sandpiper
gouache on paper 48 x 60 cms 187⁄8 x 233⁄8 ins
71. Roll of Officers – Godwit
gouache on paper 35 x 39 cms 133⁄4 x 153⁄8 ins
72. Army Book 127 – Spoonbill
gouache on paper 34 x 43 cms 131⁄4 x 167⁄8 ins
73. Snowy Endboard – Red Crested Cranes
gouache on paper 48 x 60 cms 187⁄8 x 233⁄8 ins
74. Whaplode Marsh – Curlew
gouache on paper 32 x 41 cms 125⁄8 x 16 ins
75. L’Ouverier – Barn Owl
gouache on paper 31 x 43 cms 121⁄4 x 16 3⁄4 ins
Robina Jack
76. The Wait
painted wood panel 31 x 45 cms 121⁄4 x 173⁄4 ins
77. Yellow Mantlepiece Dog – Small Plate
78. Off to Morocco – Small Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 35 x 35 x 3 cms 133⁄4 x 133⁄4 x 11⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 23 x 7 cms 111⁄4 x 87⁄8 x 21⁄2 ins
79. Elephant – Small Bowl
80. Long-Horned Bull – Small Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 23 x 7 cms 111⁄4 x 87⁄8 x 21⁄2 ins
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 23 x 7 cms 113⁄8 x 87⁄8 x 21⁄2 ins
81. Tiger Resting – Small Bowl
82. Red-Beaked Bird on Branch – Small Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 23 x 7 cms 113⁄8 x 87⁄8 x 21⁄2 ins
slip decorated earthenware 27 x 27 x 7 cms 105⁄8 x 10 5⁄8 x 23⁄4 ins
83. Small Lion – Small Bowl
84. Small Elephant – Small Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 27 x 27 x 7 cms 105⁄8 x 105⁄8 x 23⁄4 ins
slip decorated earthenware 27 x 27 x 7 cms 10 5⁄8 x 105⁄8 x 23⁄4 ins
85. Head of a British White Cow – Small Bowl
86. Wagtail – Small Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 27 x 27 x 7 cms 105⁄8 x 10 5⁄8 x 23⁄4 ins
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 29 x 6 cms 113⁄8 x 113⁄8 x 21⁄8 ins
87. White Bull – Small Bowl
88. Indian Dish – Small Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 29 x 6 cms 113⁄8 x 113⁄8 x 23⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 29 x 6 cms 113⁄8 x 113⁄8 x 21⁄8 ins
89. The Passing
painted wood panel 32 x 45 cms 125⁄8 x 17 3⁄4 ins
90. Parlour Clipper 2
painted wood panel 27 x 24 cms 10 5⁄8 x 91⁄4 ins
91. Wilfred – Small Bowl
92. The Wait – Small Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 29 x 6 cms 113⁄8 x 113⁄8 x 21⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 29 x 6 cms 113⁄8 x 113⁄8 x 23⁄8 ins
93. The Passing – Small Bowl
94. Camels by the Shore – Dish
slip decorated earthenware 29 x 29 x 6 cms 113⁄8 x 113⁄8 x 23⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 39 x 24 x 4 cms 151⁄8 x 91⁄2 x 13⁄8 ins
95. Dappled Bull – Dish
96. Lookout on the Cliffs – Dish
slip decorated earthenware 38 x 23 x 4 cms 15 x 9 x 13⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 39 x 24 x 4 cms 151⁄8 x 91⁄2 x 13⁄8 ins
97. Granny’s Cockatoos – Dish
98. Two Black Hens – Dish
slip decorated earthenware 38 x 23 x 4 cms 15 x 9 x 13⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 38 x 24 x 4 cms 15 x 91⁄2 x 13⁄8 ins
99. Into the Tropics – Dish
100. Two Mates Resting, Replete – Dish
slip decorated earthenware 38 x 24 x 4 cms 15 x 91⁄2 x 13⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 38 x 24 x 4 cms 15 x 9 1⁄4 x 13⁄8 ins
101. Large Bull – Dish
102. Green Parrot – Dish
slip decorated earthenware 37 x 31 x 3 cms 145⁄8 x 121⁄4 x 11⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 38 x 31 x 3 cms 15 x 121⁄4 x 1 ins
103. Ship Through Chevron Porthole
painted wood panel 35 x 29 x 2 cms 133⁄4 x 113⁄8 x 3⁄4 ins
104. Newfoundland Bank
painted wood panel 45 x 43 cms 17 1⁄2 x 167⁄8 ins
105. Tortoise – Dish
106. Ship in a Bottle – Dish
slip decorated earthenware 38 x 31 x 3 cms 15 x 121⁄4 x 1 ins
slip decorated earthenware 38 x 31 x 3 cms 15 x 121⁄4 x 11⁄8 ins
107. Sailing Barge – Dish
108. Grey Parrot – Large Deep Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 37 x 31 x 3 cms 145⁄8 x 121⁄4 x 11⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 7 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 x 23⁄4 ins
109. Red Parrot – Large Deep Bowl
110. Brindle Long-Nosed Dog – Large Deep Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 39 x 40 x 7 cms 153⁄8 x 151⁄2 x 23⁄4 ins
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 7 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 x 23⁄4 ins
111. The Black Hen – Large Deep Bowl
112. Sailing Boat – Large Deep Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 7 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 x 23⁄4 ins
slip decorated earthenware 39 x 39 x 7 cms 153⁄8 x 153⁄8 x 23⁄4 ins
113. The Maharaja’s Favourite Hound – Large Deep Bowl
114. Crouching Lion – Large Plate
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 7 cms 151⁄2 x 151⁄2 x 23⁄4 ins
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 4 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 x 13⁄8 ins
115. The Little Hare – Large Plate
116. Three Leaping Hares – Large Plate
slip decorated earthenware 41 x 41 x 4 cms 161⁄8 x 161⁄8 x 13⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 41 x 41 x 4 cms 161⁄8 x 161⁄8 x 13⁄8 ins
117. Ship Through Tulip Porthole
painted wood panel 25 x 30 x 2 cms 95⁄8 x 115⁄8 x 3⁄4 ins
118. Parlour Clipper 1
painted wood panel 27 x 24 cms 105⁄8 x 91⁄4 ins
119. Brown Hen – Large Plate
120. Prancing Dappled Grey – Large Plate
slip decorated earthenware 41 x 41 x 4 cms 161⁄8 x 161⁄8 x 13⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 41 x 41 x 4 cms 161⁄8 x 161⁄8 x 13⁄8 ins
121. Guinea Fowl on the Indian Plain – Large Plate
122. Grey Bird – Large Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 41 x 41 x 4 cms 161⁄8 x 161⁄8 x 13⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 6 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 x 23⁄8 ins
123. White Hen – Large Bowl
124. Leaping Bay Horse – Large Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 6 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 x 23⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 6 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 x 23⁄8 ins
125. Pigeon – Large Bowl
126. Crow – Large Oval Dish
slip decorated earthenware 40 x 40 x 6 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 x 23⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 34 x 42 x 4 cms 133⁄8 x 161⁄2 x 15⁄8 ins
127. Two Fish – Large Oval Dish
128. Elephant Walking through Leaves – Large Oval Dish
slip decorated earthenware 34 x 42 x 4 cms 133⁄8 x 161⁄2 x 15⁄8 ins
129. Grey Chicken – Large Flat Bowl
slip decorated earthenware 43 x 43 x 4 cms 167⁄8 x 167⁄8 x 15⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 34 x 42 x 4 cms 133⁄8 x 161⁄2 x 15⁄8 ins
130. The Rosy Arch
painted wood panel 13 x 26 cms 51⁄8 x 101⁄4 ins
131. Thames Barge
painted wood panel 34 x 39 cms 133⁄8 x 153⁄8 ins
132. Leaping Dappled Horse – Tray
slip decorated earthenware 22 x 17 x 15 cms 81⁄2 x 6 3⁄4 x 57⁄8 ins
133. White Cat – Tray
134. Sitting Dog – Tray
slip decorated earthenware 34 x 34 x 10 cms 133⁄8 x 133⁄8 x 37⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 34 x 34 x 10 cms 133⁄8 x 133⁄8 x 37⁄8 ins
135. Dog Head – Jug
136. Guinea Fowl –Jug
slip decorated earthenware 20 x 17 x 15 cms 7 7⁄8 x 6 3⁄4 x 57⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 21 x 18 x 15 cms 81⁄4 x 7 1⁄8 x 57⁄8 ins
137. Sailing Barge – Jug
138. Moroccan – Jug
slip decorated earthenware 22 x 19 x 17 cms 85⁄8 x 71⁄2 x 6 3⁄4 ins
slip decorated earthenware 23 x 19 x 15 cms 9 x 7 1⁄2 x 57⁄8 ins
139. Ship on the Azure Sea
painted wood panel 14 x 47 x 2 cms 53⁄8 x 181⁄4 x 5⁄8 ins
140. Russet Pattern – Jug
141. Chicken 1 – Jug
slip decorated earthenware 20 x 18 x 16 cms 77⁄8 x 67⁄8 x 61⁄4 ins
slip decorated earthenware 22 x 18 x 16 cms 85⁄8 x 71⁄8 x 61⁄4 ins
142. Chicken 2 – Jug
143. Bunch of Flowers – Jug
slip decorated earthenware 20 x 19 x 15 cms 77⁄8 x 71⁄4 x 57⁄8 ins
slip decorated earthenware 22 x 17 x 15 cms 81⁄2 x 6 3⁄4 x 57⁄8 ins
144. A Mackeral Sky
painted wood panel 15 x 27 cms 57⁄8 x 10 3⁄8 ins
Island Going Mum and Dad were already lying in the bottom of the boat when Captain Jack Brady cut the engine and started scanning the 360 degrees of horizon for a hint of where we might be. “I don’t wanna worry you,” he said in a hoarse Virginian drawl, “But I think I missed the channel… That there’s white water and we don’t wanna get amongst it.” It was approaching six in the morning and the November sun was breaking through the clouds just enough to turn the surrounding water from black to liquid metal. The mainland was miles of choppy sea behind us, and we three landlubbers were soaked to the skin. Given the circumstances, I didn’t want to get amongst it much either. But the barrier islands of the West Virginia coast, and the channels of water that run between them were known only to me by legend, and not by hard topographical fact, so in true Odyssean style I groped in my pocket for my iPhone and opened Apple Maps… That Captain Jack Brady – a Virginia native, who’d lived all 89 years of his life amidst this archipelago – found himself disorientated, is a testimony to its ever-shifting nature. We were drifting amongst sand banks and dune systems thrown up by the roiling waters of the Atlantic Ocean, unchartable in any lasting way, subject as they are to storms of devastating force. And it was to one such weather-whipped landmass that we were ultimately bound, a desolate strip of sand seven miles out from the mainland, given its name, Cobb Island, by the family who’d made their livelihoods there until being finally driven off by a hurricane in the 1890s. Captain Jack and I hunched over the glowing screen of the phone, me realising I was no longer quite sure which way the mainland was, and hoping that Jack was having better success matching the featureless mounds that surrounded us with the deceptively clear delineations of the map. Mum and Dad were still rolling around on the floor of the boat, Mum racked with situational giggles, all of us wondering how in the hell we’d got ourselves into this mess, and hoping we’d get ourselves out. All things considered, we had to blame Dad. It was he who’d fallen prey to the siren call of Cobb Island, drawn here by his long-time
obsession with the Cobb family and the wooden decoys they’d carved and hunted over on the very waters on which we now found ourselves contemplating possible shipwreck. He’d been here twice before, back in the seventies, and its desolate song had threaded through his veins and pulled him back all these years later, this time with Mum and me in tow. And so it was that we’d pulled into Oyster, a little town nestled into the Eastern shoreline, bleak in the wintry drizzle. After gingerly stepping round a pile of eviscerated, limbless deer, that had been dumped on the water’s edge by local hunters, Dad flagged down a man who was about to gun his boat up the channel. Could anyone could get us out there, to Cobb Island? The man pulled his boat in against a wooden jetty; I couldn’t blame him for looking a little surprised. But yeah, he knew a man, although he mainly did summer fishing charters, a young guy who lived up in Wachapreague. I wrote down the details, while Dad told the man he’d been taken out to Cobb before, by a guy who must be dead now, Captain Jack Brady, he’d lived in this town. Still did, the man said, up there on Crumb Hill, you know, he’d probably take you, he’s 89 now but he’s still got a boat… And it was by means of this beautiful symmetry that we’d found ourselves cast momentarily adrift in this vast network of tidal channels, with Captain Jack at the helm, weathered and elderly, but still in command. “That there’s Wreck Island” he said, pointing at the glowing map in my hand, “Cobb’s up above it.” He started the engine and swung the boat round. By the time we first sighted Cobb island, the sun had burned through the cloud, and it appeared as a long scrubby strip on the horizon, its flat expanse broken only by a triangular metal tower and the two collapsed silhouettes of what once had been buildings. Captain Jack tried to dock us at the old jetty, but the sea had engulfed it, and we took off our shoes to wade there instead. I’d grown up hearing tales of the legendary Cobbs, of their family, their decoys and of the hotel they’d improbably built on this far
145. They Lived On
painted wood panel 36 x 40 cms 141⁄8 x 153⁄4 ins
out stretch of sand, a high-end establishment that played host to hunting parties in the summer months and boasted such luxuries as a ballroom complete with a full size gilded harp. I thought of that harp as I took in the desolate belt of sand we now stood on; nothing could have seemed more incongruous to this barren landmass, current population 3 (we’d left Captain Jack fishing from the boat). It was impossible not to admire the tenacity of a family who’d thrived for over half a century out here, carving decoys, salvaging wrecks and hunting for wildfowl; all the while envisioning this storm-wracked atoll as the perfect place from which to run a hotel. We began to pick our way along the seaward side of the island, the damp grey sand clammy against our bare feet. It felt like we were walking along the outer reaches of human habitation; we were the outliers, the last people until God-knows-where. The beach was strewn with oyster shells, horseshoe crabs and banks of twiggy flotsam that stretched off in front of us to where a broken building bent to wash its wooden roof tiles in the lapping waters of the sea. I watched Dad make his way along this transient promontory, watched him as he silently communed with this last tangible vestige of the Cobb family era, an old lifeboat station gently giving itself up to the sea in a simultaneous admission of timelessness and impermanence. And then Dad took off his trousers and waded out to it; laying his hands against its wooden carcass, pilgrim and relic leaning against each other, thigh deep in the winter cold sea. Homage paid, we walked back to where Captain Jack was fishing, and again clambered with some indignity into his little boat, looking out over the stern at the small deserted island, struck by how wholly it inhabited its isolation. Jack started the engine, the sudden noise putting up a dark mass of shorebirds, and the sky was momentarily filled with the wheeling forms of plovers, oystercatchers, godwits and turnstones, all calling to one another
as they circled round and flew off out to sea. We set off landward then, carving a white wake into the water, and sending, by way of farewell, a string of waves that surrendered themselves against Cobb Island’s cold and lonely shore.
Guy Taplin sculpts birds from driftwood gleaned from coastal environments around the world. Robina Jack is a ceramicist and painter; many of her paintings are nautical in theme and adorn wood uncovered in the tidal backwaters of the Rio Formosa. Nancy Rose Taplin paints birds in gouache on found books and paper ephemera. All three are influenced by the many adventures they embark on together.
Nancy Taplin, 2017
CDXXXIV
ISBN 978-1-910993-26-2 Publication No: CDXXXIV Published by David Messum Fine Art Š David Messum Fine Art
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Studio, Lords Wood, Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Tel: 01628 486565 www.messums.com Photography: Steve Russell Printed by DLM-Creative
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