Eilidh Crumlish’s work is an observation of landscape, both urban and rural, agricultural and industrial. On the whole the paintings are based on the landscapes of Scotland and Catalonia, adopting a simplified method of representation and selective use of colour to imply a past imperfectly remembered, referring to a physically manipulated and theoretically romanticised landscape. Fragments of pattern from wallpaper, clothing and household textiles refer to the inevitable temporariness of a people’s connection to a place, the changing roles of territory as dictated by commerce, industry, war, the illusion of ownership of land and the movement of people. Crumlish works for the most part, with oil paint on canvas, and recently also on wood.
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During a three-month residency at Hospitalfield House, Arbroath, in 2005, Crumlish began painting onto constructed wooden surfaces and has since continued and developed this approach, working with the format of a hinged triptych, and with screen print on fabric, paper and wood. Eilidh Crumlish’s evocative use of rich colour and patterned surfaces is present more than ever in her new ‘Track Record’ series, which sees the recording of layered impressions made by humans and animals on landscape in a series of small-scale one-off works. Exploring the traces of actions, Crumlish develops the images by mapping out areas and responding to the materials she works with, encouraging us to reflect on the nature of our own involvement within our surroundings; the patterns we create and the traces we leave behind.
Crumlish graduated from Winchester School of Art with an MA in European Fine Art in 1997. She has spent time as a resident artist at Europas Parkas in Ltihuania, taught at LUSAD and UCCA, and participated in several group shows in both London and Europe. She is co-founder of HICA (the Highland Institute for Contemporary Art), and lives and works in Inverness-shire.