Ian Hamilton Finlay: Little Sparta & Collaborations

The working together of two artists on a single idea is a true ’collaboration’. The collaborations between artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay and photographer Robin Gillanders involved the realisation of the artistic conception of the one by the other, through the medium of photography. The photographer’s ability to interpret the ideas sensitively and sympathetically became in itself a form of inspiration to the poet. Finlay and Gillanders were friends and collaborators. This book includes photographs of their partnership taken at Finlay’s garden, Little Sparta, from 1993 until his death in 2006. Essays by 4 major authorities on Finlay including academics, Stephen Bann and Greg Thomas along with poets Alistair Peebles and Alec Finlay, reveal the range and impact of his work.