Suzanne Taylor is latest artist to take up residence at Gleneagles Townhouse

Scottish artist, Suzanne Taylor, is the latest in a series of artists to exhibit at the Townhouse. Her collection, “Visual Ticks”, will be available to view until the 4th of December.

“Visual Ticks” is a collection of hand-crafted collages which bring together unique elements of vintage nostalgia. The collages are made up of ready-made images Taylor found through countless hours spent in second hand bookstores searching for the perfect elements to put together.

Suzanne studied at Glasgow University and went on to gain her Masters in Fine Art from Glasgow School of Art where she now teaches. She began making collages as a way of formulating her final ideas and compositions for paintings. Taylor loved the medium so much that the collages then became the final piece, as she felt the idea she was trying to encapsulate in a painting was better conveyed within her collages.

Suzanne’s work follows themes of femininity, sexuality, consumption, and climate change and is Taylor’s ode to the glamour years. Her work certainly encourages a sense of nostalgia to the pre digital era and its aesthetics and culture.

The collages are made from a selection of images that may relate in some sense but contradict in others. Taylor describes them as “a visual oxymoron with uncanny tendencies”; some images are in complete opposition to one another whereas others somehow have a relationship to one another if you look close enough. Her pieces play with social ideas both current and past, such as one of a carefree dancer placed in a kitchen, which is symbolic of 1950’s female servitude. The size of the images she chooses is just as important as the image itself, and plays a huge part in how she puts together her final compositions.

Taylor recently exhibited at Saatchi as part of The Other Art Fair in London. Suzanne Taylor’s works are now available to view until the 4th of December at Gleneagles Townhouse, St Andrew Square for Townhouse members, hotel guests and diners at the Spence.

gleneaglestownhouse.com / suzannetaylor.art

From Waste to Wall: new exhibition at Leith’s Image Collective Gallery

From reinterpreting autism to reimagining single-use products – how one artist is changing perspectives in Edinburgh this summer

Leith’s Image Collective Gallery launches thought-provoking new exhibition
‘From Waste to Wall’ with an opportunity to meet the artist

Diagnosed with autism at the age of three, art has played an important role throughout James Owen Thomas’ life as a means of communication and expression. Now aged 21, the multi award-winning artist views his autism not as a disability, but as a different kind of ability. And it is because of James’ unique ability to change perspectives that his latest exhibition, From Waste to Wall, is sure to attract attention. 

Debuting at Edinburgh’s Image Collective Gallery, From Waste to Wall features a range of thought-provoking collages, each one created using unwanted single-use products such as discarded lottery tickets. The artworks are intricately detailed – embodying James’ ethos that something genuinely beautiful can be created from items that others may deem as useless.

Speaking ahead of the exhibition opening, the North Yorkshire artist commented; “By creating collages from thousands of tiny pieces of discarded materials, I aim to make a positive statement about recycling.

“I have been exhibiting my unique style of environmental art since the age of 15 and I’m delighted to be displaying my art for the first time in Scotland this summer.”

The exhibition is being brought to Edinburgh thanks to the Image Collective Gallery owner, Sara Thomson, who first met James when they were both selected by PM Boris Johnson to become a COP26 One Step Greener Ambassador in 2021. 

Explaining her appreciation of James’ work, Sara said; “When I saw James’ work displayed at COP26 I was immediately struck by how intricate and beautiful each collage is.

“I was also moved by the powerful message he is putting out there – the idea that we need to change our attitudes, behaviour, perceptions, and perspectives if we’re going to save the planet.” 

The From Waste to Wall exhibition opens to the public on Tuesday 2nd August at The Image Collective Gallery and runs until Friday 30th September. The exhibition is free to view.

James Owen Thomas will be working on a live piece of art at The Image Collective Gallery on Tuesday 2nd August, 10am – 3pm, during which all are welcome to come and meet the artist.