exhibitions & events 2017

Alice Strange

“Constantly in a state of becoming”
- Bob Dylan

An electrical engineering degree lead to working in the energy industry for twenty years.  Time flies.

Chance meetings with printmakers Thelma Sykes and Eric Martin caused me to take Obi-Wan Kenobi’s advice and rethink my life.  I bailed out of the corporate world soon after to study art history at the Open University and make stuff.

Tuition and guidance from many people - Maureen Johnston and Simon Rutherford in Christchurch, Ian Gowdie and Alan Anderson in Oban, Gayle Robinson, Ros Lawless, Scott Campbell, Claire Forsyth, Stuart Duffin, Fiona Watson, Robert McSpadyen, Murray Robertson and Jess Copsey at the Glasgow Print Studio, and Claire McVinnie and Scott Hudson at the Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Studio - has added mosaic, flax weaving, painting, collagraphy, screenprinting, digital printmaking, bookmaking and laser cutting to my toolbox.

“For those who know how to read, I have written my autobiography.”
- Picasso

Originally from Port Glasgow, I’ve lived in Christchurch and Wellington in New Zealand, London, Much Hadham and Farthinghoe in England before moving to Oban in 2004. 

My mind is fueled by everything I experience: art, science, music, literature, politics, the earth, the sea, the sky, people, memories … I process the input by making stuff.  I choose the medium to suit the message, mostly linocut and screenprint, but also collage, textile, assemblage, cyanotype and paint.

 “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
- Jacques Cousteau

A house by the sea - a son with an interest in marine biology - a television documentary featuring the Challenger Expedition (1873–76) - a conversation with SAMS Director Laurence Mee ... the sea cast its spell and an artistic exploration was underway.   In 2011, I started reading the Report of the Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of HMS Challenger during the years 1873-76.

My line of inquiry moved seamlessly from the Challenger Expedition and oceanography to NASA’s space exploration programme, thrilled to discover that NASA acknowledged the importance of the Challenger Expedition by naming a space shuttle and the Apollo 17 lunar landing module after the ship, and that one of my favourite photographs was taken from space shuttle Challenger - Bruce McCandless II taking the first untethered spacewalk using a Manned Maneuvering Unit. 

Over the years, twenty-six artworks inspired by the Challenger Expedition have emerged: digital collages, screenprints, cyanotypes and even an assemblage.  These works acknowledge and celebrate the courage, determination and achievements of those who explore the unknown to give us a better understanding of our world and ourselves. 

The full collection of Challenger works is currently installed in the John Murray building at SAMS in Dunbeg.

Image: Alice Strange, 'Aurora', image size 36 x 150 cm, paper size 52 x 166 cm, digital pigment print.