Looking North Through Art: Siobhan McLaughlin
Siobhan McLaughlin is an artist and freelance curator based in Glasgow. Experiencing landscape through walking constitutes an integral aspect of Siobhan’s artistic practice. Impressions of her surroundings and her place within it are translated into paintings that comprise of sewn-together remnant materials and paint whose pigments the artist often gathers on location. Working in this way presents an interesting response to the question of energy ethics in art making.
Just like the landscapes she takes inspiration from, Siobhan’s paintings are the result of slow, multi-layered processes in which human and environmental histories are entangled. Given her artistic practice, and the scale of many of her works, the physical components of Siobhan’s artistic practice feel tangible. Yet ever since a pedestrian accident, working in this way has come at the cost of physical discomfort and adversity which contrasts with conventional understandings of healing in nature and art.
The third part of Looking addresses our central themes through the lens of care, healing & regeneration. This is to acknowledge the interconnectedness of this planet’s ecosystem. Environmental, public and personal health are closely intertwined. Together with our speakers we wish to explore ways in which healing, care and regeneration provide a framework of being with our surroundings.