Before I arrived at MERZ Dave Rushton suggested that I work with the windows on the Bothy Green House, a glassed shed built by artists Rhona Jack and Callum Wallis in May 2020 as part of their residency then. I was keen to explore this idea as it would be a development of work I had done on the windows of my Edinburgh flat during lockdown. The painting on my windows (I can see you from my bubble) explored them as a ‘border’ between lockdown existence and nature, a symbol of longing and memory.
For the Bothy Green House I wanted to merge the shed with its surroundings, creating an ambiguous reflected image on the glass using mirror paint. The Green House was situated in lovely grove of trees which had immediately caught my eye when I arrived, inspiring drawings and timelapse video during my first week on residency. After conversations with local artists Mark and Denise Zygadlo I realised that some of these beautiful trees were ash trees which are currently endangered due to a disease called ash dieback
I began by drawing the trees in situ transferring the drawings to the glass with wax. Further experiments occurred with mirror paint and stencilling. I wanted to create an ethereal version of the trees on the glass, one that would change with the quality of the light and the reflective qualities of the mirror paint, and one that would be different viewed form the inside and outside of The Green House. Above all I wanted to capture the beauty of these trees, both as an immediate presence and also a kind of visual memory.
