Arts / Two local artists feature in prestigious national exhibition
TWO Shetland artists will see their work take pride of place at a prestigious exhibition in Edinburgh over the next fortnight.
Artwork from Keith Massey and Susan Pearson will be featured in the Society of Scottish Artists’ (SSA) 126th annual exhibition, which runs from today (23 November) to 11 December.
Massey, who studied at UHI Shetland, received a new graduate award from the SSA.
His artwork going in display is called Lost To Us.
Massey said it is an assemblage sculpture created from a series of handmade artisan saws more than 100 years old.
“The saws are stacked vertically and balanced on a discarded oak ballast block from a ship’s bilge,” he said.
“I wanted minimal intervention with the various elements to emphasise their unique but unknown heritage as a nod to our current materialistic society.”
Massey previously said he was “completely taken aback” after being given the SSA’s new graduate award.
“The opportunity to exhibit at the Royal Academy is something I could never have dreamed of, and I am extremely grateful for the recognition of my work,” he said.
“What I have learned studying through UHI Shetland, which has become the most important thing for me, is that I need not worry about what people think about me or my art because I now have enough confidence to go out into the world and do what I do.
“UHI Shetland has enabled me to speak from my heart and for that, I will always be thankful.”
Meanwhile Susan Pearson, who studies MA contemporary art and archaeology through UHI Orkney, will have an installation called Becoming Island featured in the exhibition.
She said through clay figures the two-metre long piece explores the “transformational power” of islands, as well as the human being.
Pearson used wild clay she collected herself from a burn in Tresta, while second hand yarn bought from the Shoard charity in Whalsay also features.
“It’s connections to re-using things as well,” she added.
“I think of the figures as being part-island, as they were collected from Shetland.
“Some of the figures are loose and on a shelf, and some of them are hanging in cocoons that I’ve knitted, so they’re protected and connected to one another.”
Pearson, who studies through UHI Orkney remotely and has previously been on the UHI Shetland fine art degree course, said she put herself forward in the SSA’s open call for exhibition submissions.
“It was very exciting being selected,” she said. “It was interesting, the process of having to write a proposal before I had actually made the full piece, and then seeing it in-situ in the gallery was quite exciting.”
The good news does not end there, though, with Pearson given an SSA prize which means which will be invited back to display artwork at the organisation’s next exhibition.
Massey and Pearson’s work will be on show at the SSA’s 126th annual exhibition at the Upper Galleries in the Royal Scottish Academy at The Mound in Edinburgh, opening Monday-Sunday 10am to 5pm.
It is described as one of the largest contemporary art exhibitions in Scotland.
This year’s exhibition will include work from 12 new graduate award winners as well as the recipients of SSA Awards and international partnerships.
The selected works will be exhibited alongside a range of artworks including painting, sculpture, installations, video and performance selected from the SSA’s open call which attracted almost 2,000 submissions.
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