Causewaymire inspires artist's show
THIS Friday evening (October 11) artist Magi Sinclair holds a preview of her first solo show that draws inspiration from the places and landmarks along the stretch of the A9 between Latheron and Thurso – the Causewaymire.
The exhibition at the Thurso Gallery, situated within Thurso Library, is called From the Causewaymire and consists of 40 pieces – drawings, etchings and paintings.
Magi said: "The Causewaymire is one of the last open areas in the county of Caithness where commerce is currently squeezing the gap ever smaller. The works are mainly based from Latheron to Rangag and feature a wide range of subject matter that try to capture a sense of the place, from the wide-open spaces looking over the lochs to the smallholdings of yesteryear glimpsed from the road.”
Magi has an affinity for wild places and has become noted for her large works on the Flow Country, focusing on the vast open areas of peat bogs, dubh lochs and the associated weather systems moving over them.
“People have lived around this area for thousands of years utilising small parts of it to survive or eke out a modest living. Various markers have been left by them, from standing stones and brochs to abandoned settlements and small green patches of cultivation spotted far from the road itself.”
Seasonal changes, different times of day and the variety of plants and wildlife found there are conveyed with sharp observation and great sensitivity to detail by the artist. Magi creates images which link to the environment and direct the viewer to appreciate this unique landscape.
Part of the exhibition is dedicated to a croft called The Corr at Benechielt which lies above the farm where Magi grew up – having had the privilege of knowing the two ladies who occupied the croft house and their passing way of life.
The thatched house is disintegrating and is a shadow of its former self, as it is slowly being sucked back into the ground like many other croft houses that have fallen into disuse. Encouragingly, much of the surrounding land still has the signs of "make do and mend", where fences and dykes were cleverly fixed with whatever was to hand.
Magi has produced a small series of studies to reflect this.
Magi graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2014 as a mature student. In her final year, she won the college's Astaire Art Prize followed by the 2014 Hermione Hammond Drawing Award. In 2015, she was selected by the Federation of British Artists to show work in their third annual FBA Futures exhibition of outstanding art graduates at the Mall Galleries in London.
From the Causewaymire runs to Wednesday, November 6, at the Thurso Gallery, Thurso Library, Davidson's Lane, Thurso.
During the exhibition the gallery can be telephoned directly on 01847 896357
