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GUELPH, Ont. - A University of Guelph exhibition of works by leading Scottish contemporary artist Calum Colvin focuses on the legendary bard Ossian.

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The Canadian Press

“Blind Ossian,” a piece by Calum Colvin. A University of Guelph exhibition of works by leading Scottish contemporary artist Colvin focuses on the legendary bard Ossian.

Titled "Ossian -- Fragments of Ancient Poetry," the exhibition is on loan from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and runs at the university's McLaughlin Library from Sept. 29 to Oct. 24.

"Fragments of Ancient Poetry" is the title of a controversial work published in 1760 by Scottish poet James Macpherson who claimed it was the translation of an epic poem by the third-century Celtic bard.

The work gained admirers around the world, with some saying it was proof that there was an indigenous culture in Scotland, but was eventually denounced as a forgery.

"When Ossian mania gripped 18th-century Europe, it was a debate about authenticity, about proof," said Graeme Morton, chair of the university's Scottish Studies Foundation.

"Colvin's interpretations of the Ossian myth bring contemporary Scotland into view."

The exhibit explores Scotland's relationship with its cultural heritage, especially when it comes to distinguishing reality from reconstruction.

It consists of a series of multi-layered images that are "purposely disoriented," says a news release.

The University of Guelph was selected as the exhibition site because of its Scottish studies collection, the largest in the world outside the United Kingdom.