To celebrate the arrival of autumn, the SOC is delighted to present its new exhibition, Over the Waves, exploring the remarkable story of bird migration to British shores.
Through print, painting and collage, artists Mark Hearld, Jonathan Gibbs and Kittie Jones explore the extraordinary journeys made by millions of birds each year, capturing the drama, beauty and mystery of migration and bringing it into the gallery space. Adding a sense of movement and playfulness to the exhibition, 3D artist Seth Draper presents his bird-themed automata and sculptures, inspired by the rhythms of birds and the sea.
Mark Hearld is well known for his striking artwork inspired by the flora and fauna of the British Isles. Working across a range of mediums, he produces limited-edition prints alongside unique and eye-catching collages and hand-painted ceramics. For this exhibition, Mark has drawn inspiration from the coast, and more specifically from the birdlife found along the shoreline and over the waves. His vibrant collages feature a myriad of migratory birds and capture a wonderful sense of movement and energy. There is a real feeling of life within Mark’s work, and in his collage ‘Wild Goose’ you can almost hear the honking of geese as they jostle together on the salt marsh.
Illustrator and printmaker Jonathan Gibbs combines collagraph, woodcut and collage, layering Japanese and Chinese papers onto wood panels to explore the textures and natural rhythms of his native East Norfolk coast. Gathered seaweeds, rushes and grasses have been used to create a series of collagraphs, which are placed alongside imagery inspired by Little Terns nesting and flying along the coast, diving for sand eels to feed their young before migrating to Africa in late August. The expansive Norfolk coastline also features strongly in Jonathan’s work, where the natural landscape contrasts with manmade structures built to contain and protect it. “The rigid form of a concrete sea wall runs below the marram-covered hills, while a lighthouse stands to the north and a church close to the sea. Waves crash against the sea wall, with granite rocks lining the shore to protect the sand and hold back the sea.”
Kittie Jones is perhaps best known for her dynamic drawings, paintings and prints of seabirds, swirling around cliff faces and diving into the waves below. Preferring to work outside as much as possible, Kittie is drawn to places rich in nature and can often be found perched alongside seabird colonies along the east coast of Scotland and on the Isle of May Nature Reserve. Kittie’s practice focuses on drawing, painting and printmaking, she produces mixed media works on paper both out in the landscape and back at her studio in Leith. Other sketches provide the starting point for multi-layered monotypes and small-edition screen prints, made by hand at Edinburgh Printmakers workshop.
She describes how the energy in her work comes from the constantly changing elements of the natural world, with birds moving in and out of vision, and the shifting qualities of weather and light. “My attempts to capture the change are what interests me, as well as my enchantment with a world which, as a human, I will only ever occupy the edge of.” It is this sense of the edge, where land meets sea, that lies at the heart of Kittie’s work. For migratory birds, the coastline can be both the last solid ground before they set out across vast oceans, powered only by their wings, and the first place to rest, shelter and recover when they return.
Bringing a three-dimensional element to the exhibition are the automata and sculptures of artist Seth Draper, inspired by the migratory birds that visit the coastlines of East Anglia and Wales. Seth often works with driftwood, recycled tin cans and other pieces of flotsam and jetsam found along the shore. He transforms these found materials into charming and characterful sculptures, whose playful movement and ingenuity bring a sense of fun to the exhibition.
Over the Waves is on show in the gallery at the SOC headquarters, Waterston House, Aberlady EH32 0PY. Free Entry.
Image: Wild Geese Preening in my Room © Mark Hearld
