Summary

2023 On location: Aragon, Spain In the summer 2023 I travelled solo to northeast Spain on a self-directed residency. For two months I was based in the ancient village of Banaguas, outside of Jaca, the medieval capital of Aragon in the Pyrenees. I went out daily on foot to work in the surrounding landscape.

Description

Carrying materials, food and water and walking an average of 8 km a day I worked in the quiet, remote countryside around Banaguas but also worked further afield including in the mountains and 1200 m up in the abandoned hilltop village of Bergosa

Working outdoors is integral to my practice. I work spontaneously, responding to my surroundings with often limited materials in order to develop ideas quickly . Sometimes these works are further developed in the studio. 

Once home it takes time to incorporate the experience of working on location into studio work. New painting approaches, narratives of place and memory (both personal and collective), found in Spain will resonate for some time to come.

Many of these works were exhibited in a solo exhibition Eternal Return at The Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh in April 2024.

Snapshots of Spain