Killin 4 Shepherd King

King David was a favourite figure among Renaissance artists as an embodiement of both military power and culture. However Carrick's apparent turning to a biblical reference in portraying the Killin soldier as a modern David again resonates with and draws upon the cultural traditions of its location. Killin was an early centre of Christianity, a base for the first celtic missionaries. The name itself, Killin, means the church by the waterfall.

Right - The sling of the soldier's rifle should pass over and under both the soldier's canteen and jerkin. Carrick deftly bi-passed this problem and so maintained a tight composition by simply passing the sling through the sheepskin in front of the water bottle.

The Goat Skin Jerkin used by Carrick for his model on the Killin, Dornoch & Oban sculptures was donated by his daughters to Biggar Folk Museum and on my last visit was being used on a display, worn by the manakin of a shepherd, which seems fitting.

As far as I am aware Carrick is the only sculptor who employed this item of clothing on memorials (The famous portrait and war artist Sir William Orpen also featured a goatskin jerkin in a number of self-portraits) and this is perhaps significant. At Killin this simple item of clothing would appear to fulfill a number of functions. Firstly it is historically correct, providing a contemporary image relevant to the time. This was an item of clothing worn by many soldiers in the trenches in winter and would be recognisable as part of the Scottish infantryman's military uniform. Yet although of the military it is hardly militaristic, being worn by soldiers to provide warmth and comfort in the trenches. This would have created a softer and more intimate image for mourners and might have found resonance among the community, the material echoing the warmth and affection which they felt for the men listed on the monument. Perhaps the source of this intuitive understanding of the importance of the texture of materials and the effects that can be achieved originates in Carrick's childhood, growing up in a house with his mother busily working as a skilled and talented dressmaker.

Secondly the goatskin simplified the lines of the sculpture, eliminating the need to carve much of the soldiers webbing and also adding mass. This and the rough texture of the fur lended itself to what I believe was Carrick's aim to create a modern standing stone by creating expanses of roughly hewn surface on the soldier's torso.

Finally if indeed Carrick based the sculpture itself on Michelangelo's David then the jerkin would seem to help further underpin this concept. The biblical hero was a simple shepherd boy protecting his flock of sheep. The Killin soldier's goatskin jerkin and soft bonnet (instead of steel shrapnel helmet) allows for a similar viewing of the Killin soldier, creating a rustic image of a modern shepherd who was not a professional soldier or a warrior by choice and who's prime motivation was the simple impulse to protect what he cares for.