I have carved stone for over twenty years but only recently honed my technique and subject into an artistic reflection on the contemporary world and grown the confidence to exhibit. 

I have developed a narrative approach that combines more than one subject to create, or re-tell a story. I have been supporting refugees in a professional context in Scotland for seven years and find myself creating works that reflect the experiences and perceptions of people who find themselves forced to leave their homeland often crossing the sea. The traditional selkie folktale documents, and the struggle and dilemmas of family members who have to leave their homes and start new families in an alien landscape. 

By borrowing from traditional Scottish examples of stonecarving – I am working with the onlooker to reflect that statelessness, exile and homelessness are all conditions that have affected Scotland in the past and could envelop Scottish people again. Stone carving in Scotland is an artform that is found readily in our graveyards, museums and abbeys where it is often displayed; removed from context and its original venue. 

Carving stone to have a relevance in contemporary art practice is one of the challenges I am exploring.

VENUE 81 | 10:00 - 17:00