Sheila Mortlock 

Artist Statement 

My recent focus has been to explore how memory relates to place and landscape. In particular I’ve been using memories of childhood holidays in Scotland’s North West Highlands and investigating the history of the crofting Acts which marked out the land for the Gaelic speaking tenant farmers. Immersive historical research is an important aspect of my process and with this body of work I was particularly interested in the croft boundary markers that dot the landscape and how the line that separates the cultivated from the uncultivated, the tamed from the wild, represent a unique way of life. I wanted the work to tell a visual story of the memories tied to the landscape. The textural surface of the pieces developed from sketchbook work, observed drawings and photographs is built with layers of fabric, both hand and machine stitch, and print methods including mono and screen print.