‘after the winds of Birsay’

Birsay is a tidal island located on the north eastern tip of Orkney that looks over the North Sea as it clashes with the turbulent waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The signs of the North are all around: sparsity, clarity of light and air, stone, hills denuded of trees, finely shelving land, all lit by the reflections from the surrounding waters and inevitably, the sudden fierceness of the twists and turns of the weather.

During a residency at the Linkshouse in Birsay, which is affiliated with Piers Art Centre on Orkney, I energetically explored the island, walking the coastline, - a place of extraordinary beauty amidst its isolation. The Orcadian landscape, alongside the solitude, sustained my practice, generated a lot of work filling sketchbooks, work on paper and oil paintings on aluminium.

Whilst inhabiting any landscape, especially Birsay, I am always filled with conflicted emotions and unexpected contradictions that then demand more intense reflection. At a time of challenging environmental threats, these communities and landscape are at risk, so the exploration of any landscape offers tranquility and discomfort in equal measure.