I N T R O

This is a group of experimental works made in early 2020, exploring a fascination with Aberlady on the East Lothian coast. The East Lothian landscape is steeped in history and legend, from the late-Roman silver hoard unearthed on Traprain Law; the 7th-century pilgrim route that ran from Iona to Lindisfarne and passed through Aberlady, traced today in an early Celtic cross and in place names carrying the memory of St Bathan, a disciple of Columba. Further inland, the medieval Knights Templar were settled at Balantrodoch, now Temple. The paintings are mixed media on wood, built up and scraped back through layers of gesso to bring the landscape through mist, with the line of the old route inscribed across the surface like a half-buried map. I wanted to feel the human significance of a place without fully knowing its story, working between fact and creative instinct. These small experiments were the seed of a larger project (developed fully in Traces, 2026) on pilgrimage, past and present.

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B L O G  L I N K S

I want to explore what pilgrimage meant in those days in contrast to now. We often talk about ‘mindfulness’ or the peace of solitude and retreat, but what is it really like to remain in solitude or silence for weeks on end? … Aberlady. Pilgrim’s routes

I’m playing around with ideas for this year’s project, which will be three paintings, a video, also music by Adam Brewster, inspired by the 7th century Celtic pilgrim’s route from Iona to Lindisfarne via Aberlady … Aberlady mysteries

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