Mary Morrison

MARY MORRISON

undertow 2-27 November 2019

Cover: Arctic Journey Oil, mixed media on paper, 40 x 40cm (frame size) Inside Cover: Sea Heart II Oil, mixed media on canvas 60 x 60cm Additional works will be available during the exhibition.

Further information on the artist, artworks and prices can be found on our website and via our Artsy profile.

MARY MORRISON

undertow 2-27 November 2019

Join us for the opening on Saturday 2nd November from 2-4pm

&Gallery 3 Dundas Street Edinburgh EH3 6QG andgallery.co.uk info@andgallery.co.uk 0131 467 0618

Mary Morrison undertow noun 1. a current of water below the surface and moving in a different direction from any surface current.

2. an implicit quality, emotion, or influence underlying the superficial aspects of something and leaving a particular impression.

I grew up in the Western Isles, and am drawn to exploring the space and light which is particular to these islands. I am largely led by the pursuit of ‘memory places’ and aim to evoke a sense of place through fluid paint effects which combine with graphic elements of annotation – the visual language of mapping, measuring and music. Grids, staves, elements of maps and tide tables recur in my work.

Where works have titles referring to specific locations, the intention is to draw on personal connections to these places in order to explore wider themes. My intention is not to render the topography of a landscape but to explore in a more abstracted way the relationship between the individual and the landscape that has shaped them, something you carry with you – a ‘geography of the mind’. My work suggests liminal spaces, edges, tidal lines – always shifting.

I am continually inspired by relationships between the written word – poetry in particular – and image, and some paintings have titles responding to works by Kenneth White, and the Sufi poet, Rumi for example. Iain Crichton Smith’s poem ‘Lewis’ goes some way to expressing the preoccupations in my work: ‘It follows me, that black island without ornament, Which I am always questioning….

Sea, immortal waters, you are the harmony around us forever.

We exist in your music, In your blizzard of white gulls….

Wherever I am, you are with me, My music is the music of your stones, …

You are the book which I always study In sunsets over the Minch, You are my gaunt theme, my poem which burns in water.’

The landscape of the Outer Hebrides and the melancholic ‘island exile’ in song and poetry is well known, but I seek to respond to and challenge this with a deeper exploration of identity – related to the language of mapping. Going beyond the surface is important to me, and the intention is for the work to reveal itself slowly.

‘Morrison’s thoughtful, contemplative works really capture the essence of the Highlands and Islands landscape, influenced by Kenneth White’s Geopoetical theory. … There is fluidity and formality in her technique which is beautifully balanced and her response to the Highland landscape is refreshing and inspired. This work is not about surfaces but understanding…’

Georgina Coburn

Undertow Oil on Canvas, 100x100cm

Ebb – Gold/White Oil on paper, 44 x 44cm (Frame size 60 x 60cm)

Echo III Oil, mixed media on canvas, 120 x 120cm

Undertow II & Arctic Dream II Oil on canvas, 34 x 34cm

Sea Storm & Territory III Oil, mixed media on card, 23 x 23cm (Frame size 40 x 40cm)

Tear Oil on paper, 44 x 44cm (Frame size 60 x 60cm)

Silver Tide II Oil on paper, 44 x 44cm (Frame size 60 x 60cm)

Ebb - Luskentyre Oil, mixed media on canvas, 60 x 60cm

Navigating III & Drift II Oil on canvas, 34 x 34cm

MARY MORRISON Born 1967 Isle of Harris, Western Isles 1985-90 Edinburgh University & Edinburgh College of Art Joint Degree MA (Hons) Fine Art 2:1 1989 Ecole Des Beaux Arts, Tours, France Student Exchange Student Intern, Jack Tilton Gallery, New York 1990-91 Edinburgh College of Art Post Graduate Diploma in Painting (Distinction) AWARDS 1990 Edinburgh College of Art, 1st Prize Painting 1991 Andrew Grant Travel Award 2011 Greyfriars Art Prize, Society of Scottish Artists Exhibition 2014 RSA Open Exhibition Prize, RSA Open Exhibition – ART 2014 Edinburgh Printmakers Award, SSA Exhibition MEMBERSHIPS SSA (Society of Scottish Artists) Professional Member P U B L I C AT I O N S Earthlines, Issue 3 Nov 2012 Article: WAY – art/environmental aesthetics/artists’ exchanges Earthlines, Issue 10 Nov 2014 Article: ART – Mary Morrison Stravaig: Geopoetics Online Journal Issue 2 - Images accompanying Light…Words by Bill Stephens Stravaig: Geopoetics Online Journal Issue 6 - Cover Images, insert images Le Mùirn (With Affection) - published by Ceol ‘s Craic as part of a project to celebrate and respond to the works of Murdo MacFarlane (the Melbost Bard).

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2010-13 Paper Planes, Works on Paper by 16 Artists, Curated By 2019 Undertow, Solo Exhibition, &Gallery, Edinburgh

Andrew Mackenzie

Palimpsest, Curated Exhibition of Society of Scottish Artist The Cloudhouse Café and Gallery, Stow

Members An Lanntair Stornoway, Isle Of Lewis

Casting The Net: Coast To Inland March/April 2013 Mission,

Facets, Group Show by artists From Wasps Studios, Old

Eyemouth & 1 Tower St Selkirk

Gala House, Galashiels

Exhibitions & Events Weaving Together Contemporary 2018 SSA Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh Art, Traditional Craft, Heritage & Local Industry. Curated by

40/40 Vision: Selected Exhibition of works by WASPS

Helen Douglas & Keith Alexander (Borders Arts Trust).

Artists, Kirkcudbright Galleries, Dumfries & Galloway

Rumi Festival, Beshara School, Chisholme, Borders. Artists

Unrestricted, Mixed Exhibition, &Gallery, Edinburgh

Inspired by the message and words of 13th Century Sufi

SSA/VAS OPEN, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh

Poet Rumi 2017 Connection, Group Exhibition, &Gallery, Edinburgh

RSA Open Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy 2012, 2014

Inception, Group Exhibition, &Gallery, Edinburgh

SSA Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy 2011-2014 2016 The Flat Cat Gallery, Feature Artist, Lauder, Scottish Borders Mellerstain Gallery Summer Show, Mellerstain House,

Black, White & Grey, Zembla Gallery, Hawick

Scottish Borders 2012, 2013

Le Mùirn, The Briggait, Glasgow

Breakwater Studio, Edinburgh, Dec 2012, Apr/Dec 2010

Gallery TEN, Edinburgh

Way Installations: Artists Collaborative Project, Over

Converge, VAS Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy,

Phawhope Bothy, Southern Upland Way (Curated by Allan Edinburgh Harkness) 2015 SSA Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh Inner Landscapes, Robson Gallery, Selkirk

The Debatable Landscape, The Scott Gallery, Hawick

Utopia, Artists Installations In A Specially Converted

Museum, Scottish Borders

Horsebox Gallery, Curated By Pat Law, Heriot Toun, Scottish

Curved Stream, Eight Contemporary Artists At Traquair

Borders and Touring.

House, Innerleithen, Scottish Borders

Sea Spirit, Group Show, Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries

Gallery TEN, Edinburgh, Exhibition With Marie Scott and

Edmond Byrne Pre 2010 Wasps Open Studios, St Mary’s Mill, Selkirk (2007-2019)

Trace, An Exhibition Exploring The Language Of Mapping, Atlantic Edge, Solo Exhibition. Pringle Room, Old Gala

Selkirk, Scottish Borders

House, Scottish Borders

YES (Yarrow, Ettrick, Selkirk) Arts Festival

Artist of the Month, Timespan, Helmsdale, Sutherland

The Steading, Morebattle, Scottish Borders, Mixed

Voyages & Visions, Joint Exhibition With Norman Shaw,

Exhibition with Helen Kemp And Paul Grime

Morven Gallery, Barvas, Isle Of Lewis

The Cut of Your Jib: Society Of Scottish Artists Selected

Shining Wall, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh

Exhibition, Rosalux Gallery, Minneapolis

Paperworks III, Seagate Gallery, Dundee 2014 SSA Annual Exhibition

Thall S’ A Bhos, Isle Of Harris Arts Festival

RSA Open Exhibition – ART 29

Obair Ur – New Work, Joint Exhibition With Sandra

Undersong, Solo Show, &Collective, Bridge of Allan

Kennedy, An Lanntair Gallery, Stornoway

Mellerstain Summer Show, Group Show, Mellerstain House, Artists Collective Group Show, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh

Scottish Borders

181 Show, 181 Bow Road, London. Artist Run Group show

New Generation Show, Compass Gallery, Glasgow

Fonn, Solo Show, An Lanntair, Stornoway, Isle Of Lewis

&Gallery, 3 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6QG andgallery.co.uk :: info@andgallery.co.uk :: 0131 467 0618