Flow Country landscape inspires solo-exhibit of over 40 works from Caithness artist Magi Sinclair
The work of a Caithness-based artist taking inspiration from observations of plant and insect life across the Flow Country is at the heart of a new display in Inverness.
First unveiled at Brown’s Gallery on Tuesday, May 13, the new solo exhibition – entitled ‘The Flows and the Flora’ – comprises over 40 pieces including drawings, etchings and paintings from Latheron native Magi Sinclair.
Each piece takes inspiration from the unique landscape held of the expansive Flow Country, which was recently recognised UNESCO World Heritage site.
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The exhibit, which will remain on display until Thursday, June 14, shines a spotlight on the wildlife of the Flows, and Magi’s observations visiting the site’s nature reserve at Forsinard.
“The areas I visit include Forsinard with its accessible walkways to bogs and pools which lie closer to home,” she explains.
“I visit these places at different times of the year from early May when the pools are slowly coming to life, to long summer days and into the autumn, when the land takes on likeness of a Persian carpet – the play of light changes the land and colours over the open terrain.”
Magi’s connection to Caithness stems from her family, who have farmed in the same area of Latheron for hundreds of years.
“Growing up on the farm in with my brothers and sisters, we had the freedom to roam all over the farm,” she reflects.
“A lot of what interests me stems from that childhood – places, animals, insects and the flora of the north.”
Magi’s body of work is the product of 12 years studying, drawing and painting the Flows, after returning to her roots having spent time living and studying away from home.
A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, her most recent accolade was the Scottish Landscape Award for Environmental Art for her work ‘Flow Mist Rising’ at the inaugural Scottish Landscape Awards in November 2023.
She says her art is the result of keen study and observation.
“Wildlife is all around, in the form of birds, insects, lizards, beetles and also the midges and clegs to drive visitors off the bog land,” she adds. “Only by sitting very quietly does it bring its rewards. I do a lot of looking and watching.
“The Flows and the Flora is a culmination of all this observation. I am trying to convey a sense of being back there in that landscape, to capture the essence of the place.”
An artist’s event has also been planned for Saturday, June 7 from 2-4pm, inviting members of the public to join Magi for an informal walk around the exhibit to talk about her artworks.
Gallerist Gordon Brown, who is hosting the exhibit at his gallery on Castle Street in Inverness, said: “Magi quietly and assuredly produces paintings and drawings with a confidence that only comes from an intimacy with the Flow Country, a place that has become her passion and perhaps her obsession.”
For more information, visit the exhibition information page at Brown’s Gallery.