VACMA: Samantha Clark

People in Orkney may be most familiar with the artwork Samantha Clark created for the new Balfour hospital - a 30 metre mural the length of the curved wall and internal windows in the central ‘hub’.

However Sam’s creative practice has spanned a wide range of media over many years, including writing, video, textiles, sound, installation, public art, drawing and painting.

Her most recent work responds to the dynamic natural environment of Orkney, particularly, she says, the movement of water through and around the landscape: waves, rivers, lochs, clouds, fogs and rain.

“The VACMA award allowed me to test out new surfaces and materials like silver leaf and mica, using these to create misty, sparkling, softly iridescent surfaces that capture a sense of light moving through and behind fog, rain and mists. I was able to create a whole new series of artworks and to launch them I held an Open Studio weekend a couple of weeks ago. It was lovely to be able to share the new work in person again at last! For those outside Orkney, I also did an ‘Instagram Live’ tour.”

“I am fascinated by the slippery and elusive quality of water, the interplay between its reflective surface and dark depths, its porous and shifting boundaries, its ancientness and yet moment-by-moment freshness. In the drawings and paintings I make, surfaces are created through a painstakingly slow process with several layers of translucent washes of gouache and gesso laid down before further layers of intricate line drawing are built up over them. In this way, water becomes a focus for a wider meditation on time, change and impermanence. Drawing becomes a way of gathering up time and making it visible.”

“It’s a slow, contemplative process that contrasts to water’s endless movement. Each mark drawn records the moment of its own making, a gesture caught and held. As I continue working, these gradually accumulate in intricate meshes, sometimes in many layers, like fine lacework or Shetland knitting. I think people find the detail of my work very calming and meditative.”

You can see Samantha’s new work at www.samanthaclark.net/shop  and follow her on Instagram and Facebook on @samclarkartwrite

“During the month of May 2021, I was able to spend an intensive period of time working in the studio and exploring the use of new surfaces such as kaolin, mica and silver leaf, with a particular focus on the latter. I have been able to spend time exploring the possibilities of these new media and the work with silver leaf has been particularly exciting. I have been drawing and painting over the top of the silver leaf, creating surfaces that shift with the light and create an ambiguous sense of depth and reflectiveness.

As a freelancer, I am usually juggling several projects at once. The award allowed me to give myself permission to set other work commitments aside for a period of several weeks, to buy some new materials, and to focus entirely on developing this new group of art works. I am still in the process of documenting the work with photographs and moving image. Over the period covered by the award I was able to produce 20 new pieces or artwork at various scales, some on paper, others on board.”

See examples of Samantha's work on the www.artworkarchive.com