An introduction to local artist Stuart Murphy’s work highlights his exploration of working and lower-class history and culture from the Middle Ages up to the present day. His work places particular focus on the aftermath of the Black Death (1348–1351), which more or less ended the medieval (rural) way of life and ushered in the early modern (urban) era. This period saw a complex dynamic of lower-class empowerment alongside a clampdown on their mobility and freedom through public humiliation, punishment, and strict vagrant and labor laws.
This new era also witnessed significant societal shifts, including a massive increase in land enclosure, a state-sponsored war on women and reproduction (the witch hunts), and the brutal and violent Atlantic slave trade. At the same time, a more pronounced lower-class culture emerged, characterized by fairs, festivals, charivari, chapbooks, and taverns.
As the title suggests, I will also delve into the Ayrshire I have grown up and lived in, providing insight into the lesser-documented aspects of its working-class history. This includes the lives of servants and smugglers of Ayrshire, as well as introducing biographies of some of Ayrshire’s forgotten individuals.
