John Hope Gateway (Arboretum Place), Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, until 6 March 2011

IAN WESTACOTT’S latest exhibition features a fine selection of etchings exploring the connections between the natural world and our interior lives. As a master printmaker the artist has successfully captured the essence of his subject, the mark of history in every branch and limb superbly defined by the etching process.

In the intricate rendering of each original print there is a feeling of acute observation of cycles of growth and decay, together with a human mind and hand behind every mark. The relatively intimate scale of the work begs closer investigation and in many ways this series of works are distinctly figurative, wearing scars of age and time on their outer skin.

Ian Westacott Aberscross Juniper

Westacott’s command of his chosen medium is richly in evidence throughout, with a sensitivity of mark that makes viewing this suite of etched trees a very interior and unexpectedly moving experience. Aberscross Juniper 2009 (Etching ed 7/15) is a beautiful example, bent, knarled and dynamically spun into the confines of the right hand corner of the composition by the cross hatched twists and turns of every branch. Such a composition is strangely reminiscent of the emotive quality of an Egon Schiele drawing, where the placement of the figure is an inherent part of its psychology, elegant and raw at the same time.

Although stylistically different, Westacott combines this emotional sensibility at the heart of the composition with the discipline of botanical observation. In Aberscross Juniper, Westacott depicts an enduring, living organism and a lone figure simultaneously, a feeling of loneliness permeates his trees, framed in their isolation. In many of these works scant and delicate markings define the foreground, giving an impression of vulnerability and precariousness. Often the ground is uneven, as in Aspen Ardgay 2006 (Etching ed 7/15), and the placement of the trees within the compositions contribute to the emotional resonance and human dimension of the work.

In Birnam Oak & Sycamore 2007 (Etching ed 6/15) the eye is lead into the composition by the branches of two entwined trees held up by supports like an aged couple, the focused view cut off like a photographic snapshot, while in Glen Loyne Pine 2008 (Etching ed 10/15) the verticals and horizontals of growth are clearly shaped by wind and weather, just as life experiences define character within and without. There is respect and reverence for the subject communicated by the care in every drawn mark and a sense of intimacy like that of a portrait.

Ian Westacott's etching Birnam Oak and Sycamore

There is also a suggestion of a stream of potential narrative in a work such as Covenanters Oak 2007 (Etching ed 7/15), which bears a collective mark of history upon it by association. The titles of works suggest site specific or historical associations which combined with Westacott’s meticulous technique provide triggers for the viewer’s imagination; the lives of these battle scarred trees inexorably linked with personal and collective histories in terms of vulnerability and resilience.

Don’t Worry Tree, Gearchoille 2009 (Etching ed 5/15) is a good example, depicting a central tree within a grove, the remnants of a tree house in the tangle of branches defined in finely etched marks like a fleeting memory of childhood and a place of refuge. In these Venerable Trees we may see ourselves and the mark of time upon us – equally the exhibition also subtly draws our attention to environmental decline and the defiance of nature in the face of on going human intervention.

The John Hope Gateway building within the Royal Botanic Garden is the perfect setting for such contemplative work, and having seen the exhibition venturing outside takes on a new dimension. The juxtaposition of art works within a public green space undoubtedly adds to our appreciation of both.

Also on display on the ground floor of the John Hope Gateway building is an exhibition of contemporary Scottish craft exploring biodiversity (until 20 March 2011) featuring works by Anne Murray, Georgia Crook, Jenny Pope, Rachel Elliott, Fiona Bryne- Sutton and Caroline Dear.

© Georgina Coburn, 2011

Links

• Royal Botanic Garden
• Craft Scotland