The Morrich Project

The Morrich Project is an artistic response to a unique place the Morrich More through live performance, sound and film. Choreographer and dance artist Julia McGhee is collaborating with artists Penny Chivas, Saffy Setohy, Nicolette Macleod and Robbie Synge to investigate. By developing this work in the remote Highland community where she lives, Julia hopes to bring artists and audiences together – making a space for conversation and engaging with people locally.

Morrich More is an extensive area of strand plain and dune grassland on the southern shore of the Dornoch Firth. It is an area of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation, due to the protected species of plants and the wildlife found there. It also forms part of Tain Air Weapons Range – one of the largest MOD live fire aerial weapons ranges in the UK.

Access to the Morrich is restricted when there is MOD activity: red flags across the signal that the ‘Danger Area’ must not be entered. The Morrich is both an area of safety for wildlife and a practice war zone; it also provides a natural barrier between the village of Inver and the North Sea. However being mainly composed of sand dune makes it particularly vulnerable to coastal erosion: an increasing threat due to sea level rise and more frequent storms as a result of climate change. The Morrich is a complex and fascinating place.