ELREC are organising a very exciting workshop in partnership with Heriot-Watt University exploring people’s perception of their language and how it can be reflected in a form of art.
Join us for this very creative course. Attendance at all the sessions is not necessary, you can come along to as many sessions as you wish. All materials and food are provided
Need more information? email mrostami@elrec.org.uk
Staff, patients and visitors at the Western General Hospital welcomed conceptual artist, Bill Drummond, to officially commence the loan of his ‘The Boy Friends’ Painting’ for the next year. As part of the event, guests also heard the artist speak about the inspiration for and background to the work.
Bill created The Boy Friends’ Painting to support local Portobello poet and author, Michael Pedersen’s memoir, Boy Friends, about losing a friend before their time. In 2018, Michael lost his cherished friend, Scott Hutchison, to suicide.
Scott was the genius singer song writer of Frightened Rabbit, whose back catalogue has influenced music makers for years and touched the lives of music lovers all over the world.
Michael asked Bill to do a painting for the launch of the book and he created a large 190 x 130cm canvas with the text “The Boy Friends’ Painting”. He has invited others to paint some of the painting and then, on the back of the canvas, add the name of the person they have lost too soon. By doing so, they become immortalised as part of Bill Drummond’s art for evermore.
Dr Catherine Quinn, Consultant, Medicine of the Elderly and POPS at the Western General, became aware of the painting while attending the Boy Friends book launch in The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh.
She said: “When Bill invited people to offer to take the painting for a year to use it wherever they thought it may improve the wellbeing of others, a few other hospital consultants and I thought this would be such an amazing piece to have at the Western General.
“Bill was really keen on the idea of it being displayed where patients, staff and visitors could view it and hopefully gain some benefit from interacting with it, so has gifted it to us for a year.
“We are delighted that he made a special visit to Edinburgh this week to explain the background to the painting and invite others to be part of this journey celebrating the lives of the friends we loved and lost. During its time with us, the canvas is likely to change significantly, but that’s part of the aim.”
The team at the Western General is working with NHS Lothian Charity’s Tonic Arts team to support the display and sharing of the work.
Susan Grant, Tonic Arts Manager, said: “This is such a generous gesture by artist Bill Drummond. Loans and events like this really help to reinforce how important art and creativity are in healthcare settings.
“Art can help take you out of yourself, sometimes providing relief and distraction from what is happening to you; sometimes providing a therapeutic process. What may seem like the simple act of contributing the name of a loved one to a piece of art can help honour a memory and can help in some small way towards healing. That’s the beauty of art, it can support so many people in such a variety of ways.”
Bill Drummond said: “I’m very pleased, it sounds pretentious, but I’m honoured to have the painting at the Western General with the NHS being under so much pressure.”
Bill Drummond has had a prodigious and eclectic art career that, since 1976, has taken on a multitude of forms including writing and performing music (he’s a founding member of the KLF), managing bands (Echo and the Bunnymen), running record labels, forming art foundations, writing, publishing, lecturing, and painting. He has supported countless other artists in their creative journeys.
Michael Pederson wrote the very moving Boy Friends book as a means of confronting the bewildering process of grief. What starts as a love letter to his best friend, becomes a celebration of friendship and an exploration of the gap that is left when someone you love leaves this world before their time.
The painting will be displayed in the Anne Ferguson café area of the Western General Hospital.
National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) has acquired a vibrant painting by renowned Italian artist, Telemaco Signorini (1835–1901), with support from Art Fund.
Entitled, ‘Waverley Bridge’ (1881), the striking work depicts the recently constructed Waverley Bridge from a vantage point near its northern end. Looking south towards the junction with Market Street and Cockburn Street, the spire of St Giles’ Cathedral is silhouetted against an overcast sky at the top.
The changing faces of the city are evident, with gas lamps on the bridge and businesses – including Cumming’s Bazaar, the offices of the Edinburgh Evening News, and the Cockburn Hotel – identified by the signage on their façades.
Smoke and vapour billow up from the steam engines in the station below. The scene is enlivened by a picturesque cast of local characters going about their business, most prominently a policeman and a mother and daughter with flower-pot hats.
Signorini painted this work during a month-long visit to Edinburgh in the early summer of 1881. In his journal for this trip the artist recorded painting on Waverley Bridge on six occasions and, given its modest size, we can be fairly confident that it was painted on the spot.
Born in Florence and based there for most of his career, Signorini is perhaps the best-known and most talented of the group of mid-19th century painters known as the Macchiaioli. Other prominent members included Giuseppe Abbati, Giovanni Fattori, and Silvestro Lega.
They were united by a commitment to a realist approach to painting, often in the open air, with bold brushwork and strong contrasts of light and shade, and by their rejection of the academic tradition of artistic training.
The term ‘Macchiaioli’ derives from the word macchia, meaning spot or blot, and was coined by a critic in 1862 in mockery of the unfinished appearance of their work, but was then adopted by them.
They are in some respects the Italian equivalents of the Barbizon and Impressionist painters in France. Signorini was the most cosmopolitan of the Macchiaioli, travelling often to Paris, and was aware of artistic developments there.
Aidan Weston-Lewis, Chief Curator of European Art at National Galleries of Scotland, says: “‘We are delighted to have secured this striking and rare little painting for the collection.
“We knew that Signorini had worked in Edinburgh, but only a handful of paintings resulted from his visit and none of these has appeared on the market for decades. So, when we were offered the opportunity to acquire Waverley Bridge, we jumped at the chance. It instantly becomes the most significant painting by any of the Macchiaioli artists in a British public collection.
“We are confident that this will be a popular new addition to the collection, a perfect complement to our fine group of Impressionist paintings. It is a bustling image of modern urban life which recalls, in particular, the work of Gustave Caillebotte. The only surprise is that we are in Edinburgh rather than Paris!”
The acquisition was made possible through a generous grant from Art Fund, and the National Galleries of Scotland is once again extremely grateful for its support.
Sarah Philp, Director of Programme and Policy, Art Fund, said: “At Art Fund, we believe that artworks of cultural significance should be in public collections, available to everyone.
“And so, with the invaluable help of our members and supporters, we’re so pleased to award £70,000 to the National Galleries of Scotland for the acquisition of this wonderful painting, Signorini’s Waverley Bridge, painted during the Italian artist’s trip to Edinburgh.”
Telemaco Signorini’s ‘Waverley Bridge’ is now on permanent display and is free to view at The Scottish National Gallery, in Edinburgh,10am -5pm, Monday-Sunday.
An exhibition of photography and painting by two artists with sight loss opens in Edinburgh on Saturday [August 4th]. ‘Kaleidoscope: a blind vision of colour and light’ will express Rosita McKenzie and Fiona Powell’s ways of seeing through abstract depictions of the landscape and world around them. Continue reading Edinburgh art/photography exhibition expresses work of artists with sight loss
Lallie Wilson: Exhibition Opening Invite
Friday 20th March
North Edinburgh Arts
6 – 7.30pm
North Edinburgh Arts is pleased to present the first major painting exhibition by the artist Lallie Wilson. Based in Musselburgh, Lallie has a body of mixed media artworks and colourful paintings. The exhibition portrays Lallie’s life story; from a young girl in wartime Britain, to a woman still painting many years later.
Daily opening times of exhibition:
Monday 10am – 5pm
Tuesday – Thursday 10am – 7pm (except Thursdays 1-5pm)
The exhibition will run until 27 April.
North Edinburgh Arts are always on the look out for groups and artists who would like to exhibit their work. Find out more on our exhibition page here.
