Inspired by the Glasgow Girls Exhibition
In 2019 I was delighted to organise a group exhibition with four other talented women artists, titles 'Inspired by The Glasgow Girls' which took place at Mackintosh Queen's Cross in Glasgow.
The work produced was both a celebratory nod to the 'Glasgow Girls' of the past, as well as an exploratory continuation of the intriguing themes and methods present in the work of the original esteemed Glasgow Girls. Participating Artists included Hannah Lyth, Sharon Ferris, Rachel Petrie, Choirstaidh McArthur and myself.
'The Glasgow Girls’ has become an iconic phrase both here and internationally when referring to artworks created in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s by a prominent group of female Glaswegian artists. This includes names such as Jessie M King, Bessie MacNicol, Helen Paxton Brown, Annie French, Frances Macdonald and of course Margaret Macdonald who became the wife and lifelong creative partner of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
All were inspired by different themes which included nature, identity, fertility, sexuality, romantic mysticism, celtic symbolism, religious iconography and mythology. They also often incorporated the female figure within their compositions and drew upon ideas from poetry, resulting in almost fairy tale or dream like images which visually responded to written prose. This, along with their use of colour, materials and subject pulls from the subconscious with tangible emotion. Their unique style still influences artists and enthusiasts of today as we continue to research and unravel the thought processes behind the works of this incredible movement.
Responding to and reinventing some of the prominent themes in the work of the Glasgow Girls, I chose to organise the exhibition in collaboration with these Glasgow based artists due to parallels in each of our works. Whether this is a response to the human condition (female subjectivity, sexuality, fertility and liberation), our connection with nature and the organic, religious and symbolic iconography, or drawing from written pieces such as poetry and prose, the group are as diverse and multifaceted in their use of concept and material as the original Glasgow Girls.
At the time of exhibiting, I worked with the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society as a Volunteer / Outreach Coordinator. In a press release I said:
“I was inspired to put this exhibition together as this year marks the 120th anniversary of Mackintosh Queen’s Cross and the 155th year since Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh was born. I saw opportunity in celebrating the great work of the Glasgow Girls by looking at their work through creating our own and making use of the amazing space we have here at Queen’s Cross. Although all of our work is quite varied, I find it interesting that some of the themes cross-over with those explored by the Glasgow Girls. Perhaps that’s to do with us all being female artists working in Glasgow, with connections to the art school and so intrinsically, Mackintosh, Margaret and their peers.”
“The DIY culture of the Glasgow Girls has never failed to amaze me, and the fact that they created room for their art practices in a traditionally male dominated sphere. They seem to completely reconfigure female subjectivity, and through looking at their work you question what it must have been like for female artists to be part of a rapidly changing city with shifting societal norms, and things like the suffragette movement and the industrial revolution coming into play. To me what is highlighted is the importance of continuing to create emotive, personal and explorative art in an age where machine mass production and automation are at the forefront of society and culture, which translates into where we are now in the digital age.”
Individual Artist Descriptions
Sharon Ferris draws upon the 1849 essay “The Artwork of the Future” which is based on the ideology of ‘Gesammtkunstwerk and promoted through Art Nouveau, reinterpreted for a digital age. This question has been used as inspiration for the interface designer’s work, bringing from her interdisciplinary research from her MA in Digital Art and recent MSc in Virtual Reality and Serious Game from Glasgow School of Art. Sharon explores the convergence of art, science and design, using algorithms, digital art and psychology to create an analogue and interactive and immersive digital VR application.
Rachel Petrie is a visual artist who has been based in Glasgow since graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in 2016. Through her work she explores ideas surrounding the concept of place and one’s personal relationship to it. The works in Inspired by the Glasgow Girls are part of a self-driven investigation into the problematic notion of Scottish nationhood. With regards to landscape and the tension between occupancy and ownership, she uses the idea of a narrative without overtly revealing one to play with the viewer, and encourage them to reflect on their interactions with the land they encounter.
Choirstaidh McArthur is a multidisciplinary visual artist and GSA Alum from Greenock, now based in Glasgow. Her work explores Scottish landscapes, her Celtic/Gael heritage, mythology, and the facets of identity. Her work for this exhibition focuses on grief and loss, drawn mostly from the work of Frances Macdonald, through the lens of the mythological figure of the changeling. She imagines an interaction between the family of a changeling child and the child as they come to terms with their theft by the fair people. She draws upon her own experiences of grief, and how one maintains bonds through spiritual realms through story-telling.
Jade Sturrock is primarily a visual based artist and graduated from GSA in 2016. Her current work revolves around the cultural construction of the female body and identity. She questions the kinds of idealistic images of women seen in advertising, whilst favouring the body’s sensual and biological elements as a means to place female identity in a more positive realm of depiction. Works created for this exhibition have been inspired by the illustrative and typography based works by Jessie M King as well as Frances and Margaret Macdonald’s emotive painting which draw upon prose and poetry and themes of love, loss, nature, fertility and sexuality.
Hannah Lyth is a Glasgow based visual artist who specialises in watercolour and figurative art. Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 2016 in Painting and Printmaking, Hannah has attended the Figure Course at Leith School of Art to further develop her figurative works and is currently a member of the Glasgow Art Club. Inspired by the Glasgow Style and the Glasgow Girls use of symbolism and motifs, Hannah has created a series of narrative works revolving around the subjectivity of the female body. Depicting symbolic narratives of fertility, religious iconography and how women are perceived through society and the male gaze. Whilst the Glasgow Girls use the motif of what has now become known as the ‘Glasgow Rose’, Hannah has focused on the recurring motif of the Apple using it’s symbolic connotations as a key element in her work.
