Shelagh Swanson Scottish Artist
Monuments to A Previous Life - Kilnformed Glass
"My works draw on my Caithness roots, a landscape rich in archaeological remains and traces of cultures whose stories are partly lost to time. These vessels suggest mysterious, ancient objects: somehow familiar yet strange, reflecting the experience of visiting archaeological sites in my own homeland — rooted in a landscape I know intimately, yet belonging to a world I can never fully know.
" Working instinctively with gesture and line, I find a sense of connection to my ancestors through the act of making. It leads me to question what constitutes “my archaeology”: what can be uncovered, remembered or reimagined through creating an object. The heavily worked surfaces reference Caithness — fossils and traces of ancient life, organic forms (such as mosses and lichens) and patterns carved by erosion. The work also explores displacement and belonging: feeling connected and disconnected, carrying a sense of home while finding my place within a new landscape"
