77° North was first shown in 2019 at the Discovery Centre in Dundee, where the Scottish whaling industry was economically important in one of the UK’s major ports during the 18th and 19th centuries – although not a subject which immediately springs to mind when one thinks of fine art textiles and embroideries. The title of the exhibition derives from research into the ships sailing to the whaling grounds at Baffin Bay in Canada, many of which headed for latitude 77° North.

In line with plans to show the work at other whaling ports, Stromness was chosen as a once key staging post where ships collected men and supplies for the journey across the North Atlantic to the whaling grounds. This exhibition includes work originally shown in Dundee, work made for a later exhibition in Kirkcudbright in 2022 and new work made for this latest edition of 77° North.