Gallery showcase chimes with COP26
As COP26, hosted in Glasgow, draws global focus to climate change, Resipole Studios and Fine Art Gallery, close to Loch Sunart, is showcasing two exhibitions with an environmental theme, writes Nic Goddard.
All Things Connect, on display in the main gallery space until December 3, brings together 11 artists, all of whom present work celebrating and exploring the interconnectedness of life on Earth.
Andrew Squire, a Lochaberbased artist and activist who presents the title piece, explained: ‘It can feel as though there are just two options in the face of the climate emergency we are facing; to blindly believe everything will be okay or to accept we are doomed.
‘I want to remind people there is a third way, to connect and create networks with others to find collective and creative solutions. Art gets under our skin and can speak to us in a way statistics and climate change facts sometimes do not.’
Squire’s artwork, consisting of four panels joined by the Zen symbol for the completeness of the universe, features the four elements of water, air, earth and sun with QR codes which link to apt quotes.
Stained glass artist Ise Stumpff, who uses the same techniques developed by medieval artists to create her wonderful art from her Lochaber studio, presents a triptych of glass panels, connected by a stream of water to represent the communities which exist within the connected environments of air, soil and water, which she feels we must both connect with and work to protect.
Referring to the quote from which the exhibition takes its title, Stumpff elaborated: ‘Humans have come to believe that Earth’s resources were ours to take, yet we must understand, as Chief Seattle said, ‘we are one thread within the web of life and whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves’.’
Anna Raven, who presents a meditation on the movement of water as part of the exhibition, said: ‘Through human actions we risk our natural world. Fires rage, ice melts and sea levels rise. We must change how we live on planet earth.’ Fort William-based landscape artist Amy Marshall, who uses sustainable art materials including hemp canvases and handmade natural paints, is inspired by woodlands, beaches and oceans rich with biodiversity and habitat.
A mother of young children, Amy explained: ‘My art depicts some of the precious landscapes I want my children to grow up surrounded by.’
All Things Connect, which also includes work by Georgia Murray, Lotte Glob, Helen Michie, Jane Rushton, Kate Foster, Richard Bracken and Tamsin Cunningham, is accompanied by a beautiful original piece of music written by composer Kerrie J Robinson.
Also on display during November is Recovering Ground, a collaborative exhibition between sculptor Lucy Gray and writer Leonie Charlton. It’s a powerful combination of beautiful poetry from Leonie illustrated by the work of Lucy, who uses materials found in nature to create her sculptures.
The Recovering Ground poem, displayed in full on a board at the start of the exhibition, is continued around the walls alongside sculptures.
A QR code linked to the poem read aloud by Joanna Tope set to music by Breagha Charlton, allows for a fully immersive experience as you linger beside each sculpture.
Both the materials and subject of Lucy Gray’s art drawn from the landscape and natural world and the evocative beauty of Leonie Charlton’s words draw you in to engage with the connection we each have to the landscape.
Lucy explained a little of the process of her art which combines found natural materials such as wood and stone with bronze gilding and lacquering, taking inspiration from the wildlife and the landscape
around her. She said: ‘I am fascinated by the movement and ever-changing motion of rivers and tides. The work involved in creating a sculpture echoes that of exposure to the elements and the passing of time adding and removing layers to the natural world.’
Gallery owner Andrew Sinclair explained: ‘It is always exciting to be approached by our exhibiting artists with ideas for new and interesting exhibitions. Climate change affects us all and using the arts to raise awareness made perfect sense.’
The two exhibitions can be viewed at Resipole Studios, located between Strontian and Acharacle on the Ardnamurchan peninsula.
All Things Connect and Recovering Ground are available to view on the website, along with the accompanying music and poetry.