BAN RESEARCH British Landscapes In September 2020, the Landscape Research Group put out an open call for artistic and creative responses to the theme of Landscape in Lockdown. “We were thrilled with the volume, range and quality of the proposals and were particularly impressed by two submissions that we felt captured the essence of lockdown – showcasing resilience, imagination and new ways of engaging with the landscape from our lockdown worlds.” – Helen Record, Curatorial Assistant, Royal Academy. The two successful proposals were: Siobhan McLaughlin, artist and freelance curator based in Glasgow. Siobhan’s practice sits between abstracted landscape and an expanded form of painting. In her commission she responds to ‘Landscape in Lockdown’ with a contemplative film of her painting Glen Muick. Aiming to counteract the lack of physical connection in lockdown, Siobhan captured a more intimate experience of landscape, closely filming the drawn and sewn lines of her canvases in a dreamscape-like installation. Filming this way evokes the textures and tangibility of the landscape in a more immersive way than photography. Another aspect of this film is the intention of slowing down, appreciating what’s around us. The audio of gently echoing footsteps transports the viewer to the hillside, and there is a feeling of growing proximity of the landscape and more freedom as lockdown comes closer to ending. The film cuts to hills just outside of Glasgow, and as the camera pans round we see the paintings unraveled from the installation, celebrated in the landscape.
Siobhan McLaughlin, Film still showing Landscape in Lockdown, oil bar and oil paint on mixed materials, © the artist
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