Imagine not being able to walk along a beach and watch the waves crashing on the shore against the backdrop of our beautiful Orkney sunset. We take for granted that feeling of wonder at the power of nature and rugged beauty of the ever-changing seascapes, which go a long way to heal life’s invisible wounds and give peace to a heavy heart.
Michael Ross hasn’t seen a sunset, a sea view or the waves for 11 years. He’s being held in limbo, waiting for the system to act upon what we know to be a huge miscarriage of justice, and time is dragging on. The wheels and cogs within the system that stand between Michael and his freedom appear to be operating in reverse, while simultaneously building impenetrable brick walls at every turn. It’s virtually impossible to navigate any way forward through the wilful and nasty storm that is the cruelty of wrongful conviction. It can feel hopeless and desperate. A nightmare that has no end.
The feelings of hopelessness could easily turn anyone affected towards despair, bitterness, anger and negative energy. Not so in our case, because out of the gloom has arisen a massive movement in the form of a growing and impressive campaign of action. We started with ripples and now we want to make waves. We hope that these waves will create a tsunami that will shake the foundations of the Scottish system of justice and bring about the change needed to ensure that miscarriages of justice are dealt with effectively and rectified without delay.
‘Making Waves’ is a concept created by a brilliant and talented local artist, Jimmy Dearness; an Orcadian semi-retired businessman known for his many talents and his peaceable nature. He has turned his feelings of helplessness into something amazing and proactive to support his neighbours and friends Eddy and Moira Ross and their son Michael. His own son, Jimmy junior used to play and ‘hang out’ with Michael, back when the days were carefree and there were no heavy worries to negotiate.
Jimmy said: “I just felt so frustrated that there was nothing I could do to help. It’s been completely obvious to me since the beginning that the case against Michael was non-existent and distorted, and it’s been very difficult watching this nightmare unfold for a family I care about. I had this huge amount of energy behind a pent-up frustration from being able to do absolutely nothing to change the situation, while at the same time thinking ‘what if this was my son?’ I would want people to do something”
“In 2017 the campaign went down a fundraising route and I was amazed at how many people gave to this cause and that they clearly felt as strongly about it as I did. They gave what they could afford so generously. I’d been asked to create some stainless-steel statues of boats for trophies to be given at a local regatta, and received such positive feedback I immediately decided I was going to make a boat for Michael. That was where my energy was going to go”
Jimmy went on to create a spectacular schooner which he named ‘Justice’. He intended to auction the boat, but it was snapped up by an interested party upon completion, which boosted the campaign fund considerably.
When Justice moved on to its new home, a friend suggested a lighthouse project as a symbol of hope in the darkness. Soon after came the next statue; a sleek lighthouse with a working light, aptly named ‘Hope’. Again, this piece didn’t make it into the public sales domain and was exchanged for another large campaign donation.
Jimmy has been in awe of the sea his whole life and is very aware that, in Orkney, much of the art available is inspired by our breath-taking land and seascapes and the natural environment. The sea emulates the passion and strength of feeling behind our campaign and the power of the crashing wave is unstoppable. It moulds and changes the landscape. Everything is at its mercy.
“When it was suggested to me that a wave might be an ideal new project, I immediately said ‘I’ve always wanted to make a wave!’ I realised that it wasn’t going to be the easiest shape to create from stainless steel, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me. It became my new obsession, creating loads of prototypes, having studied photos and paintings of waves. I took to the beach for inspiration and noticed that the shape that a wave makes as it lifts and breaks wasn’t what I’d been creating. It was tricky for me to get the shape right. A fast wave has a build up at the front and bends back at the sides before crashing forward. I tried to depict this shape and was delighted when I managed to get exactly the vision I had in my mind”
The first of Jimmy’s awesome wave sculptures will now be offered for Silent Auction to raise further funds which will go towards Michael’s legal fees and campaign.
Our campaign spokesperson said: “We want this truly stunning piece of art to be a symbol of our story. Collectible, unique and made with love, humanity and a passion for justice and truth. We hope that someday, when this is all over and Michael is free, we’ll be able to look back and take some positives from this unwelcome fight we’ve undertaken. We want our story to be told time and again through the coming years and these pieces will be symbolic of the journey taken by those in the community that were not prepared to stand back and allow a travesty of justice to prevail. There is nothing that depicts ‘Freedom’ more than the beautiful and breath-taking statue created by Jimmy, our dear friend”
Making Waves at the County Show – 10th August 2019
‘Making Waves’ hosted a stand at Orkney’s main agricultural show this summer. The response to Jimmy’s statues was amazing, with everyone in awe of his talent and his drive to support Michael and his family. We’d like to thank everyone that came along to support us on the day. We are greatly lifted by the positive comments we received.
We’re delighted to report that we managed to exchange six of Jimmy’s stunning statues for campaign donations during the first phase of the silent auction (deadline 11th August 2019), raising a substantial sum.
The following statues were available by silent auction and have now been exchanged for campaign donations towards legal fees. They have moved on to new homes, where they will give pleasure for years to come and, in the future, will serve as a legacy of our campaign:
31 August 2019 – Making Waves raises over £10k!
The public support we’ve received for the duration of the the ‘Making Waves’ project has far surpassed any expectations we had. The boost to our morale and motivation has been worth as much as the funds we’ve raised. Just to know that there are so many people behind us makes us even more determined to push our campaign as far as we possibly can. Our only hope is that we will eventually achieve ‘Freedom’ for Michael Alexander Ross, who has now been held captive within the failing justice system away from his loving family for almost 15 years.