Sophie Morrish

My work is founded on a deep interest in landscape, not for romantic or nostalgic reasons but for the opportunity it affords of visceral engagement with the ‘more-than-human’ world. I live and work in a remote rural area, North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The environment I live in directly inspires my creative work.

A remote place such as this may appear diametrically opposed to contemporary urban living but the wealth of cultural experience provided by a city is more than matched by the complexity of phenomena to be found out here.

Post Modern anxieties concerning value, meaning and reality are well met in a wild place like this. Here, theory and conjecture bump up hard against the inexorable cycle of destruction and regeneration in nature. Immersive and challenging experiences engage the full spectrum of senses and provide a powerful reminder that, for all our sophistication, we too are a part of it.

I am particularly curious about the role instinct plays in our perception of natural phenomena, and how it may be agent in creative processes, translating into and functioning as a part of visual artworks.

Art and instinct in an age of technological/rational dominance are empowered by their mutual capacity to open aspects of visual cognition otherwise dulled by mass culture.
Deeply attentive to place, individual works may infer temporal or spatial nuances but essentially they signify dialogue between matter and experience.

Education

• 2006-07  
  • Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design, University of the Arts, London (PGCE)
• 1991-93  
  • Royal College of Art, London
• 1985-88  
  • Chelsea School of Art, London

Professional Membership

• 2015
  • Appointed to the Board if Atlas Arts, www.atlasarts.org.uk
  • Scottish Contemporary Art Network, a-n Network
• 2009
  • Land2 - Creative network with an interest in landscape / place-oriented practice
• 2001
  • Scottish Artists Union

Teaching

• 2015
  • The Royal College of Art, Visiting artist
• 2014
  • West Highland College, Visiting artist
• 2012 - 14
  • University of Highlands and Islands (Course Leader, Fine Art, B.A. Hons)
• 2010
  • Faculty of Creative Arts, University of West of England (Visiting lecturer)
• 2007 - 12
  • University of Highlands and Islands (Lecturer, Fine Art, B.A. Hons. p/t)
• 2006   
  • Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing (Visiting lecturer)
• 1996 - 06 
  • Glasgow School of Art, Department of Visual Communication (Head of Illustration, f/t)
• 1994 - 97  
  • Glasgow School of Art, Department of Visual Communication (Lecturer p/t)
• 1997 - 00  
  • Edinburgh College of Art (External Supervisor, M.A. Illustration)
• 1997 - 00  
  • University of Central Lancashire (External Examiner, B.A. Hons. Illustration)
• 1994 - 95  
  • Anglia Polytechnic University (Drawing Lecturer p/t)
• 1989 - 91  
  • H.M.P. Brixton, London (Drawing & Painting Tutor p/t)

Awards

• 2016  
  • Trelex Amazon Residency, Peru
• 2015  
  • Creative Scotland/CNES Visual Arts & Crafts Award
• 2012  
  • Selected for stage 2, John Moores Painting Prize
• 2010  
  • Creative Scotland/ CNES development award
• 2008 
  • Triangle Trust, 3 Islands International Workshop
• 1998  
  • The Enduring Image - Drawing Residency, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, India
  • British Council Exchange, Mahraja Sayajirao University, Vadodra, India
• 1993  
  • English National Opera, Bayliss Programme, Artist in Residence
  • Folio Society/RCA Award
• 1992  
  • Royal College of Art Barcelona Studio
• 1991  
  • Faber Castell/RCA Drawing Award

Solo Exhibitions

• 2015
  • Refugium, Jersey Art Centre, Channel Islands
  • Biomass (NU20072014), Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Art Centre
• 2008
  • Out of the Woods, Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, N.Y.
• 2007  
  • Transparent Eye, Atrium Gallery, Glasgow School of Art
• 1993  
  • Street Scene, The London Coliseum

Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2016
  • Neo-Neo Extreme Past Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Pig Rock Bothy
• 2014
  • 20:20, Hot Bed Press, Artists gallery, Bolton, West Yorkshire Print Workshop
  • So much depends upon, Parliament building Holyrood, Edinburgh, Tent Gallery, (ECA)
• 2013
  • Fragility of Flight 2, Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Art Centre
• 2011 
  • ‘sOOt’, Oo Gallery, Kingston N.Y. USA
• 2010  
  • Come Ye Hither, Crofters Store, North Uist
• 2007  
  • A Confluence, Logbook/Artists project with Ian Stephen & Saki Satom
• 2006  
  • Inaugural, Paper, Kingston, N.Y.
• 2005  
  • Landmarks, Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Art Centre, North Uist
• 2004  
  • Red Headed Stepchild, Atrium Gallery, Glasgow School of Art
• 2001  
  • Group Show, The Wright Gallery, Kingston, N.Y.
• 2000  
  • Hypostasis, Atrium Gallery, Glasgow School of Art
• 1996  
  • Art on Buses, Friends of the Earth/London Buses, Museum of Transport, London
• 1993  
  • Folio Society Show, Gulbenkian Gallery, RCA
• 1992  
  • Interim, Gulbenkian Gallery, RCA
• 1991  
  • Sketchbooks, Hockney Gallery, RCA
  • Chelsea School of Art Retrospective, The Collection Gallery, London

Workshops & Related Experience

• 2015
  • Metropolitan Field Studies Visual research project, The Royal College of Art
  • Towards An Ecology of Drawing Workshop for AOS
• 2014
  • Beyond Location presentation for Traveling Dialogues, a Generation event for Broad Reach/ Atlas Arts
  • Power of the Sea, Royal West of England Academy, in residence, with HATCH
• 2013 
  • We Are Northern Lights, Co-Director, Collaborative documentary film /general release
  • Out of Place, Public discussion for Time Span / Broad Reach (Chair)
  • In Conversation with Gwen Hardie, Event for the University of the Highlands & Islands
• 2011
  • ‘A wealth of gestures - George Rowlett’s North Uist works’, Catalogue essay, Art Space Gallery, London ISBN 978-0-9563072-8-6
  • ‘Experience & Remembering- the late works’, Catalogue essay, Taobh an Iar, Domhnall Fearghasdan, ISBN 978-0-953814-4-3
• 2010   
  • Everywhere & Nowhere’, (residential), ‘Locality’ Environmental workshop for Faculty of Creative Arts, University of West of England
• 2008 - 11 
  • Design & Editor, ‘Curracag’ - Newsletter of the Natural History Society of the Outer Hebrides, (Voluntary)
• 1995 - 06  
  • Creative/environmental student field trips, (leader) - various remote locations around Scotland.
• 1999  
  • Organised ‘Points of Departure’ a Scotland-wide student-artists location based project in collaboration with Railtrack. Curated exhibition of the same name at Glasgow School of Art.
• 1995  
  • Organised ‘The Artificial Horizon and Eccentric Ladders’ a public lecture by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Glasgow Film Theatre.
• 1993  
  • Curated ‘Inside Out’ an exhibition of work by men in H.M.P. Brixton at The Royal College of Art, London

Sophie Morrish
e-mail:  s.morrish@hebrides.net