LUNGA Exhibition

5 - 20th September

LUNGA brings together new work by Andrew (Andy) and Helen Mortley, David Page and Matthew Reade, inspired by the landscape and wildlife of the Treshnish Isles.


Lying off Mull’s west coast, Lunga is the largest of the Treshnish Isles, with a rugged coastline and extraordinary seabird colonies that transform the island through spring and summer.


Earlier this year, the four travelled to Lunga together, each taking different observations and ideas back to their studios. Through acrylic painting, ceramics and carved local hardwood, each has responded to the island in their own way. Andy’s footage and sound recordings from Lunga add another layer, bringing some of the island’s movement, noise and atmosphere to the collection.

ANDY & HELEN MORTLEY

Andy and Helen Mortley are Mull-based artists whose work grows from a shared fascination with the island’s wildlife and coast. Both have longstanding interests in ornithology and marine biology, which have shaped their work over many years.

Andy is a painter and sculptor, best known for his painting and metalwork in tin and copper. More recently, he has turned his experience of making and shaping materials towards ceramics, creating both functional and sculptural pieces. LUNGA will showcase a variety of Andy’s newer ceramic work.

Helen's work is inspired by the things she finds and observes around the coast, from feathers and shells to birds’ eggs and fish. She creates beautifully arranged shadow boxes using beach finds, as well as baskets made from used fishing rope. More recently, she has applied her distinctive, detailed painting style to ceramics, which form the focus of her work in LUNGA.

Andy and Helen have a gallery in Dervaig which is currently used as their pottery workshop, where all of their ceramics are made.

DAVID PAGE

David Page is a former architect, having run his own practice (Page/Park Architects) in Glasgow. Today, he is a full-time artist.

David works out of his studio in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull for much of the year. He also spends time in Kells, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This gives him the opportunity to observe two different landscapes: the brutal elegance of the West Coast Scotland versus the gentle undulating hills and field patterns of Ulster.

For LUNGA, David has created two large diptychs responding to the Treshnish Isles, inspired by the extraordinary seabird colony at Harp Rock.

Recent recognition includes winning the Highland Art Prize in 2022, and a solo exhibition 'Highland Colours' at The Briggait, Glasgow in 2023.

MATTHEW READE

Matthew Reade moved to Mull with his family in the early 1980s, helping to establish their dairy farm outside Tobermory, now home to Isle of Mull Cheese. He later worked as a fisherman before returning increasingly to making.

Self-taught from a young age, Matthew’s work developed through furniture making and architectural projects into carved wooden sculpture. Working mainly in wood, he uses chainsaws and chisels, often finishing the surface with burning and colour. His work is strongly rooted in Mull and its coast, taking inspiration from natural forms and the traces people leave behind.

For LUNGA, Matthew has created a collection of sculptural pieces inspired by the Treshnish Isles and has also returned to his earlier experience as a furniture maker to create a wooden loveseat for the exhibition.

Matthew and his wife Julia founded Calgary Gallery and created the surrounding Art in Nature sculpture trail.

Read more about the Artist's inspiration here