Weaving Shed gallery hosts diverse exhibition of local and visiting artists
HILLSWICK is set to be a hive of creative activity this summer after a new art exhibition opened at the Weaving Shed Gallery, writes Alex Purbrick.
The Weaving Shed Summer Exhibition opened its doors last Saturday to a bustling number of tourists and locals bringing a lively feel to the village.
Featuring works from local as well as visiting artists, there is a unique range of sculpture, paintings, drawings and sketches as well as an exhibit of work from the late Jeanette Therese Obstoj, whose life and work the gallery is dedicated to preserving.
Jeanette was a successful lyricist and video director who wrote songs for many performers including Tina Turner and Dusty Springfield, and was also an artist whose paintings are on display in the gallery.
Geoff Jukes, who owns the Weaving Shed, hopes the gallery will be a space for local craftspeople and artists to use and invited two local and two visiting artists to exhibit for the summer exhibition.
One of the local artists is Susan Pearson, from Whalsay, who said: “The opportunity to exhibit in Hillswick with this mix of talented artists is lovely. I think our work speaks well to each other and will complement each other.”
The title for her work is Oddkin, exploring the entanglements of human and non-human which she expresses through locally gathered clay to create intriguing small figures similar to the ancient Venus figurines of Old Europe from 8,000-35,000 years ago.
However, she does not necessarily think of them as Goddess sculptures but considers them as “oddkins, cyborgs or hybrids of human and non-human, as if the only thing a female figure can be is a goddess, when in fact she can be whatever she wants to be”.
The other sculptures on display are a mix of concrete and second-hand knitted fabric assuming the form of ethereal beings who have an otherworldly form which Susan feels “merges opposite things, showing that they can exist as one” with the hard concrete compared to the soft feel of the knitted lace.
She is currently studying for a masters in contemporary art with archaeology at UHI Orkney, merging her love of folklore, art, archaeology and island identity to create pieces inspired from stories of the past as well as inspiration from things made in the past.
After recently moving to Shetland in 2025, Nicola Rose is an artist whose paintings of the sea and landscape in Shetland are on display in the exhibition.
Inspired by Shetland’s ever-changing light, her dramatic oil on canvas work is very Turner-esque in her depiction of the vivid skies, fiery sunsets and swirling seascapes enchanting her home near the spectacular cliffs at Eshaness.
“Light is therefore colour” exclaimed the great English landscape painter J.W. Turner, and Nicola has certainly used colour to full effect in her work to convey Shetland’s intense light with pieces such as Orange Cloud and Into the Fire exploding forth onto canvas with a velocity as powerful as any Shetland storm.
She enjoys the sense of isolation and silence that Shetland brings to her life and feels her art “reflects my need for this isolated and remote wilderness, where I can immerse myself and explore the extremes of weather and light and the ever-changing nature of the land and sea”.
The ancient red granite cliffs she paints reflect the red/orange intensity of the midsummer sun, shining its light on rocks that she feels are as old as time and yet connect us with an eternal concept of being outside of ourselves and our depiction of time.
Visiting artist, Philip Kenolty, who stems from Northumberland, is exhibiting 19 abstract sculptural pieces influenced by the mid 20th century British Modernist sculpture movement.
His stone sculptures are highly individualistic with each piece carrying its own identity and resonance. Mostly working with alabaster, Maltese limestone, selenite and Zimbabwean springstone, Philip is a sculptural maestro carving directly into the stone, letting his hands dictate the shape that the stone wants to become producing masterpieces totally unique in form and identity.
Being completely self-taught with no formal qualifications in art, he is very humble about his talents.
“I love the permanence and variety of stone and its inherent beauty; my work simply elaborates a little on that,” he says.
His gold series of sculptures with 24 carat gold leaf running through are stunning and create a resonance slightly hypnotic to view and incredibly enticing.
Based in Richmond, Surrey, visiting artist Amanda Rendall is due to arrive at the Weaving Shed in July with her exhibited pieces inspired by plants and fungi.
She uses British limestone to carve abstract stone sculptures that reflect a deep connection to the natural world and celebrate the resilience of nature.
Certainly, a diverse interesting exhibition that hopefully will encourage more local artists to participate in future and contribute to the bustling atmosphere within Hillswick this summer.
The Weaving Shed Summer Exhibition runs until 31 August and is open Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 11am to 5pm.
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