Flora Robson

Flora Robson is a Painter and Printmaker based in Glasgow/Preston.

‘By apprehending traditional painting media such as oil and watercolour, I attempt to refract the permanent impermanence of the Scottish Landscape through historically romantic notions of of the sublime, and the abstraction of forms rendered in paint in conflict with contemporary concerns over ecological anxiety and our waning ability to combat the effects of climate change. Mark making techniques are explored through etching and monoprinting, establishing a dialogue with the vast timescales of the landscape. Allusions may be drawn between these media and their propensity for claiming space adjacent to the ecological protest of tree planting as a reclamation of space. My work is not a solution to these vast problems, but a perspective, an observation, and a feeling about what if anything can be done.’

Flora’s degree show explores how tree planting can contribute to the mitigation of climate change. Working in partnership with GSA Sustainability and the Woodlands Trust in planting 45 native Scottish saplings at the GSA Innovation school campus (Highlands and Islands School.) This physical action of planting is a way of expressing my drawing through an ecological lens, illustrated also in a series of 30 etchings showing the projected growth. Partly natural performance piece, the trees themselves embody the notion of regeneration and growth, the importance of recognising our exploitative history with the Caledonian Forest, as well as offering an insight into the ways we can work creatively as a community towards a sustainable future.