Thurso High School Exhibition, Caithness Horizons, Thurso, until 25 February 2011

CAITHNESS has always lent itself to the visual. The great swathes of open country, the huge sky, the receding horizon, the ever present sea; all of this informs any artist who comes from the far North – for good or bad, writes George Gunn.

So it is in this latest batch as represented by Thurso High School, assembled with no small love by Rona Hayley, head of Thurso High School art department. The pupils are of all ages, from first to sixth year, and, as you might expect, all their influences are on show, from Andy Warhol to the Iron Age and before.

The opening night crowd in the gallery

What is striking is the amount of skill that is in these children’s hands and eyes, and this must be a result of the teaching. There is, on the evidence of these 50 or so pictures, a democracy of expression at work. Whether it touches on the landscape, as I have mentioned, or whether it is one of the many intense and colourful portraits, energy pours out of this exhibition.

The colour is never half done – I don’t think these artists know the meaning of compromise – which is as it should be, for here we have youth, ambition and no small measure of success.

The technical ability in capturing a face is all around the walls, and in the midst of these moving eyes there is the still centre of some simple pottery, unpretentiously displayed in a glass case, and yet here is a time machine.

Ten thousand years old in concept – these are representations of the Beaker People, those folk who came to these flat lands after the ice retreated, who hung – literally – their dead out to dry, burned their bones and then put them in pots, and then put those pots in the things we now know as Camster Cairns.

That these young artists reference this in their work is a sure sign that art is being taught to them as a meaningful thing and not just how quickly you can become the next Andy Warhol.

Caithness Horizons is the perfect venue for this. Its gallery is proving to be one of the few places where this ever-evolving, ever-changing community can have a dialogue with itself. This exhibition is idiosyncratic, bold and simply presented. From handsome portraits of castles or beaches to pop iconography – yes, including werewolves, vampires and zombies – it’s all on the walls.

This exhibition, like a many headed snake, is what the Thurso High School pupils are saying. Some may find it a bit challenging. This is as it should be. My advice is to go and see it – and admission is free.

Lizzy Ross and her painting What's The Time, Mr Wolf

Michaela Cameron and her painting The Real Me

Louise Calder's Costume for Titania

Natalie Grant's The Lion King

Michaela Sibley's Personality, Past, Future

© George Gunn, 2011

Links

• Caithness Horizons