“Roots” is a series of abstracted paintings of the Australian outback and rock formations, inspired by the work of artists Doreen Reid Nakamarra of Pintupi People, Emily Kame Kngwarreye of Anmatyerre people and John Wolseley.

​

These works are my emotional response to feelings that have surfaced upon returning to Scotland after living and studying overseas for so long. I have always functioned under the illusion of being a proud Scot, yet upon return I feel I know nothing of my own heritage. For weeks I’ve felt disorientated and emotionally disconnected from the landscape and so I find myself drifting back in my mind to camping in the outback, completely alone with not a building or another person in sight, absorbing the delights of an untarnished, wild world. It was there I felt most truly at home. Learning to live with the bare minimum and embracing the time to just enjoy my surroundings was when I really began to question our westernised relationship with time and Capitalism.

​

I would like to acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people as the first peoples of the Australian nation and as the traditional owners of the land.