The outcome of a residency with Alchemy Film & Arts in 2021, through which Mark was invited to explore ‘the lines, cultures and ecologies’ of Hawick — Mark lived in the town for 6 months, engaging with local communities and developing collaborations with groups such as Hawick Saxhorn Band, Hawick Scrabble Club and Hawick Archaeological Society. The resulting film is a snapshot that frames the town at a particular moment in time, observed via Lyken’s own wanderings, conversations and curiosities. As Mark has said of the film, “It’s a portrait, but not a definitive portrait.”

“Waking up, going out, meeting with people on their terms, Mark carefully defines the artistic parameters of his rubric, actively seeking out the incidental and asking what magic might eventually happen if he sets up his camera and waits. And waits: this is a low orbit in which a chance encounter with an early-morning dog walker has as much significance and urgency as the arrival of a town’s fairground in the hot days of summer.” – Rachael Disbury, Co-Director, Alchemy Film & Arts

“In astronomical terms, a low orbit refers to the zone just outwith a planet’s atmosphere that’s also near enough for convenient transportation, communication, observation and resupply to be possible. As its title and structure suggest, Notes from a Low Orbit might be viewed as a series of vignettes humbly captured over the course of two days: evidence collated by some far-flung, time-travelling hunter-gatherer who takes refuge up in the hills, venturing into town to catch blink-and-miss episodes of terrestrial wonder.” – Michael Pattison, Co-Director, Alchemy Film & Arts