News / Gemma’s first solo exhibition
A SOLO exhibition by local artist Gemma Graham opens at Shetland Museum & Archives next weekend.
The show will feature up to 25 pieces – a collection of intricate line drawings with additional selected photography and mixed media work. It is the first time the original drawings will be on display to the public as a full exhibition following a three-year exploration of Shetland’s dramatic coastline.
The exhibition draws on the physical irregularities to be found within the landscape as a result of natural processes, particularly focusing on the coastal geology of Shetland.
The ever-present powerful force of the sea, especially to an island, is evident in the incredible shapes carved out in its landscape. All the works on display identify places the artist has visited herself, often revisiting, with favourite locations returned to many times, deepening the connection to place.
A graduate from Edinburgh College of Art in 2009 with an intermedia fine art degree, Gemma has continued to develop her practice. In August 2011 she exhibited at Funky Scottish during the Pittenweem Arts Festival, with further group shows at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop in Lumsden (December 2011) and Gallery 38 in Edinburgh (December 2012).
More recently she presented work at The Shetland Open in 2014 and 2016; both drawings will be included in this exhibition. Last April her work was on show at the Tell Me More gallery in New York.
She secured a month-long residency in June 2014 at the Wasps Artists Studio, Da Booth, Scalloway, and in February 2015 she was awarded the visual art and craft award by Shetland Arts (in partnership with Creative Scotland and Shetland Islands Council) for a research trip to Foula in May 2015.
Shetland Museum & Archives exhibitions officer John Hunter said: “Da Gadderie offers young and emerging local artists the opportunity to have their first major solo exhibition.
“Gemma has developed a particular style based on her perceptions of geological features and land formations. She emphasises the fractal elements in nature with a combination of methodical, repetitive processes and compositional decisions.”
Gemma Graham’s exhibition at Shetland Museum & Archives opens on Saturday 4 March at 2pm, and runs until 16 April.
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