Page 184 - Homes & Interiors Scotland

ART

TWO OF A KIND

Very different treatments of a peculiarly Scottish
icon can be seen in the work of these two artists

SKYESTAG

by Joseph McGlennon
The influence of Sir Edwin Landseer is
quite clear in the work of Scots-born
Australian Joseph McGlennon. “I’ve
always been drawn to the formality of
Victorian painting; its pictures layered
with meanings that are understood
through a shared knowledge of symbols,”
he says. His series of eight ‘Skyestags’
are beautifully detailed photographs,
taken while working with the taxidermy
departments at Kelvin grove and the
National Museum of Scotland, and set
against the stunning landscapes of Skye
and Wester Ross. The stags look eerily
perfect as they gaze out unperturbed at
the viewer. The works can be seen at the
Fine Art Society in Edinburgh.
www.fasedinburgh.com

WHITE STAG ON PINK
by Alasdair Wallace
Altogether less emphasis is placed
on capturing reality in the works of
Glasgow-based artist Alasdair Wallace.
The creatures in his paintings exist in a
dreamlike landscape, where nothing is
quite what it seems. If his work seems
simplistic at first glance, a second look
will show that it is just as heavily laden
with symbolism as McGlennon’s images.
Even the colours are built up through
layers of paint, so that what lies beneath
is as important as what is visible on the
surface. Wallace is represented by the
Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in London.
www.rebeccahossack.com

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