New print at the SSA 126th Annual Exhibition 2024
The Society of Scottish Artists, also known as the SSA, is a cornerstone of the contemporary Scottish art scene, so I was over the moon to be accepted again this year and have a new print at the SSA 126th Annual Exhibition 2024. There was a record number of applications for the show this year and only 10% of the works made it to the walls. I was extra excited as the show was being housed in the grand, historic building of the Royal Scottish Academy, right in the centre of Edinburgh. I was also delighted to be accepted in 2023 too and you can read about that here.
At the artist’s preview I enjoyed admiring all the works in this vast show and I marvelled at both the high quality and variety of the work in the five rooms. I may also have taken advantage of the refreshments and had a sneaky little glass of afternoon wine, which resulted in a lot of excited chatter with my fellow artists, Frank To, Gill Walton, Jane Gardiner and Cate Inglis, to name a few who were also showing. Of course, I will be in big trouble if I forgot to mention my husband, Trevor Wilson, who made the print look so special in one of his hand crafted frames.
I have to say that the SSA team really did an amazing job of curating the disparate artworks into considered collections, housed in the 5 distinct rooms. I felt that each piece had lots of breathing space as well as being hung amongst well-considered neighbours which let each individual artwork shine, whilst remaining part of a cohesive whole.
My Monotype Print Submission ‘Broken Dolls’.
I took a big risk this year and submitted a three fairly large works from a series called ‘Broken Dolls’, of unique mixed media monotype based works on paper, which I have been making in relative secrecy this year. The one that was chosen, called ‘Fragile Column’ is particularly close to my heart, as it tells my story of my crumbling spine and my resulting disability.
The prints are built up in many layers with the basic dress impression embellished with inkings of collected pressed flowers and leaves, cut stencils and found objects.
The broken Fern leaf on this dress, collected from a gentle woodland walk, represents my fractured disks and it melts into the lace from a real child sized dress which represents a more carefree time of my childhood.
The Society of Scottish Artists’ acknowledgment of “Fragile Column” is not just an accolade but an affirmation of the valued place the medium of printmaking has in contemporary art today. It encourages me to continue exploring my printmaking skills, to explore new realms of expressing my inner stories. The work, for me, is a form of therapy in coming to terms with a degenerative condition of the spine and draws parallels with the fragility of the natural world and our own frail human bodies.
