‘NELSON STREET FROM DRUMMOND PLACE’ BY LUCY JONES
There are some things that belong to Edinburgh, and in particular to the New Town. Local artist Lucy Jones is one of them.
I first saw her work in February, where she was included in a mixed exhibition at the Union Gallery. Her skilful and intricate collages immediately stood out, and over the next couple of months there will be two more opportunities to see her work.
As well as exhibiting at local commercial galleries, Jones has had a solo show at the Scottish Storytelling Centre and was Artist in Residence at the StAnza poetry festival in St Andrews earlier this year.
‘Nelson Street from Drummond Place’ is my favourite from her current crop. Jones’s work is purely visual and there is a fluidity and a rhythm to it. Her collages are constructed in a way that brings the location to life. Her work is not like a photograph or a painting where every detail is reproduced on paper; it is done in her own unique style.
I find ‘Nelson Street from Drummond Place’ murky and ominous and I can’t help but wonder what secrets it holds.
Jones is a local artist. Her studio is in Stockbridge and her work regularly depicts New Town locations. It is inspired by its Georgian architecture. For an artist who is so caught up in her surroundings, it’s hard to believe that she has only lived here for three years.
She experiments with different materials and techniques, and gradually builds the work like the architecture she is inspired by. She tries to use relevant texts and images in the work, which create a visual story and add literary meaning.
In ‘Nelson Street from Drummond Place’, Jones evokes the memory of a living street. You can see its past, present and perhaps its future as it merges with the various layers and trails off into the distance. She uses her technique to great effect – it never feels gimmicky, and even when the subject is lighter (e.g. ‘Glass and Thompson, Dundas Street’ below) she still manages to breathe life into it.
Edinburgh is full of art depicting the places where we live, the streets we walk along and the buildings that we pass daily. When we see our home as a piece of art, we want it replicated into beautiful imagery. Lucy Jones does just that, which is why ‘Nelson Street from Drummond Place’ is my artwork of the month. —Rhys Fullerton
New Town from Old Envelopes by Lucy Jones, which includes Nelson Street from Drummond Place, continues at Glass and Thompson Deli/Café (2 Dundas Street) until 31 August 2015. You can also see a selection of Jones’s work in Summer Cocktail at the Union Gallery (45 Broughton Street) until 2 August 2015. Admission Free.
Image credits from top to bottom: 'Nelson Street from Drummond Place' (Collage and Ink 2015 30 x 21cm £240); 'Glass and Thompson, Dundas Street' (Collage with Ink and Chalk 2015 59 x 33cm; the collage used in this is pages from an old 1960s cookbook, and includes recipes for cakes and biscuits); Old Glasshouse, Botanic Gardens (Collage with Ink and Wax 2015 45 x 32cm; collage is pages from a book on wildflowers); 'Wemyss Place, Edinburgh' (Ink, acrylic and pastel 2015 84 x 59cm).