Rowan Corkill, London, England
Rowan Corkill was born in Scotland in 1986. He received a BA in photography & Electronic media at Robert Gordons University, Aberdeen. Followed by an MSC in Sound Art & Design at Duncan of Jordanston University, Dundee. Rowan Corkill has exhibited nationally and internationally with shows in Europe, North & South America and Canada. The artist has been working with nature as a prominent theme since 2010.
The artists practice is focused around mankind’s ongoing relationship with nature and the exploration of different cultures and civilisations, of which many have deep relationships and connections with the natural world. Rowans works possess a sense of power as well as fragility, a duality which echoes that which exists within nature. In recent sculptural works the artist has explored the protective qualities of materials, both physical and symbolic.
Materials play a strong role in the artist’s practice, particularly the use of animals and plants which are collected and used in most of his works. Animal hides and skins are incorporated into sculptural works through taxidermy techniques which the artist has practiced for over 10 years. These taxidermy pieces do not fit within standard notions of the art form, instead of favouring the realism of Victorian taxidermy his works draw more from ethnographic objects such as African Nkisi objects or Nagaland head trophies. The use of taxidermy in his work acts as a foundation on which to apply materials, most of which are imbued with symbolic meanings which elevate the objects beyond the norms of the everyday. These symbolisms, which cultures have applied to almost every facet of the natural world, drive the artist to explore new materials and provide a never-ending appreciation for both nature and mankind’s creative interpretations of it.
All animals have been ethically sourced.
EDUCATION
2010 MSC Sound Art & Design. DJCA Dundee University
2008 B.A (hons) Photography & electronic Media, Fine Art .RGU Aberdeen
SOLO SHOWS
2023. Paradise Lost. Fifth-floor gallery. Brighton University campus Hastings. UK
2022/23. Elephants Breath. Solaris. St Leonards on Sea. UK
2022. Taphos. A Space Gallery. Hastings. UK
2021. A Space Gallery.Hastings. UK
2018. Warp & Weft. Hastings Old town. UK
2018. Seakale. St Leonards On Sea. UK
2016. The Seeker. 139 Artspace. London. UK
2015. Ablutio. La Petite Mort Gallery. Ottawa. Canada
2013 Nigredo. Format Gallery. Milan. Italy
2010 Image after Memory. Project Slogan. Aberdeen. UK
2009 BankStreet Gallery Presents. Kirriermuir. UK
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
01-28.11.2021- Remains. DOG Gallery. Hastings. UK
01-31.05.2021- Ceramics show- DOG Gallery. Hastings. UK
08.2020- 01.2021- Hastings open 2020. Hastings Museum. Hastings. UK
01-31.12.2020. And Guess What? Luisa Catucci Gallery. Berlin. Germany
01-30.08.2020- Full frontal Eastbourne. Eastbourne town center. UK
18-20.10.2019. Common Ware. Common Clay for Art licks. Peer gallery. London. UK
13-31.08.2019. Solaris Summer Show. Solaris. St Leonards-On-Sea. UK
03-18.04.2019. Simply Untitled. Isorropia HomeGallery. Milan. Italy
09-30.02.2019. D.O.G Gallery. Opening Show. Old Hastings. UK
14-16.03.2019. Natura Mirabilis. Luisa Catucci Gallery. Tour & Taxis. Brussels. Belgium
08-11.11.2018. FotoFever. Carrousel Du Louvre. Paris. France
12-15.10.2018. Art Verona. Luisa Catucci Gallery. Verona. Italy
27-30.09.2018. Position Berlin. Luisa Catucci Gallery. Berlin. Germany
02.09.2018. Coastal Currents Art Fair. Hastings. UK
24.08.2018. Natura Mirabilis. Luisa Catucci Gallery. Berlin. Germany
28.07.2018. Solaris Summer Show. St Leonards On Sea. UK
2017. Canadian Art & Danya Danger. Ottowa. Canada
2016. Evening at Le Petit Salon. Ottawa. Canada
2016. The Forewarned. Galleria Olinala & LPM Projects. Puerto Vallarta. Mexico
2015. Summa International Art Fair. LPM Projects. Madrid. Spain
2015. Keep me Posted. Art-Hub. Deptford. London
2015. Modern Panic. Guerrilla Zoo. Apiary Studios. Hackney. London
2015. Balak 3# Project Balak. Charleville-Mezieres. France
2014 The Grass Grows. Basel. Switzerland
2014 Antiritrato. Milan Photo Festival. Milan. Italy
2014 Hang Woman: The Arrested Feminine. Shwarts Gallery. Hackney, London
2013 The Others Fair. Turin. Italy
2013 London Calling 013, Brick Lane, London.
2013 Hot One Hundred, Shwarts Gallery, Hackney, London.
2013 The Catalyst Belfast Photography Festival. Belfast. Northern Ireland
2012 1 Minute Autohypnosis 11. Online project. Mute Sound.org
2012 Thank You for Creating London. CLR Projects. The Arch Gallery London.
2012 Hatched. Hatch Space studios. Deptford London.
2011 Open Online .Fermynwoods. Contemporary Arts Center NorthHampton.
2010 DJCA Masters Show. DJCA Dundee. Scotland
2010 Resonance FM ‘Experimental Orchestra’ Kill Your Timid Notion Festival, DCA, Dundee. Scotland
2010 Murmur Collective. DJCA Dundee. Scotland
2009 The London Group Annual Show. Menier Gallery. Southwark. London
2009 The Tomorrow People. Hackney Wicked festival, Elevator Gallery. London
2009 Society of Scottish Artists Annual Show. Vision Building. Dundee. Scotland
2009 Postcards from the edge-Visual Aids. Metro Pictures. New York. America
2009 New Highland Graduates. Touring Exhibition of Highlands. Scotland
2008 RSA Student Exhibition, Edinburgh. Scotland
2008 Grays School of Art Degree Show. Aberdeen. Scotland
2008 Project Wall Space, Montrose. Scotland
2008 In Out, Feminist Today, Aberdeen University. Aberdeen. Scotland
2008 Project Wall Space Christmas Show. Angus. Scotland
2007 Margins- Limousine Bull Gallery. Aberdeen. Scotland
2003 Group show- Lomond Art Gallery. Fife. Scotland
2003 Glenrothes College final year show. Fife. Scotland
2003/2004 Pittenweem art festival. Fife. Scotland
AWARDS
2009 Scottish Art Council Bursary Fund
2009 Society of Scottish Artists New Graduate Award
Abscission. 2016.
Private Collection, Ottawa, Canada.
The Abscission series carries on from then Ablution works, reiterating the notion that man needs to find peace respect and a greater understanding of the natural world. Abscission is the process by which plants shed leaves each fall, removing the old before a regrowth of the new in spring. This act of rejuvenation is akin to resurrection or ablution, ridding oneself of sins and wrongdoings as an attempt to become a better person or worshipper. The human species must learn from abscission, to shed our wrongdoings and ignorance and re-grow a new and better understanding and appreciation for nature.
For millions of year’s plant life has provided mankind with shelter food and oxygen to breath. They have been used as vital ingredients in medicines which save millions of lives and create billions of dollars each year, yet we continually fail to provide a sustainable environment for plant life. The knowledge of plants healing properties have been passed down from indigenous cultures and lost civilizations across the globe. These people worshiped the natural world around them and lived in harmony with it, they understood the power and importance of plant life and even created gods from their presence. Unlike these civilisations, the western world has failed to truly appreciate the importance and power of plants with most people being completely ignorant to their importance in our everyday lives.
We happily consume and destroy plant matter without caring for their future sustainability and the effect that this will have on the natural world.
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The Seeker 2014-2016.
Permanently on display @ The Riviera, Ottawa, Canada.
Taxidermy deer head, wooden rosary crosses, beads, rope, fabric, metal.
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”
The stag as a symbolic reference to the Christian faith is arguably one of the most prominent and significant. It is a symbol associated with the soul’s desire for purification, piety, religious aspiration and longing. The stag represents the purest of faith within the human soul, it tells of the journey and path to finding faith as evident in the story of St. Eustace.
The purity and strength of the stag lends it to the greatest of all symbolism within the catholic faith, the symbol of Christ. The stag is a warrior of faith battling against the devil, an evil within nature as represented by the snake. The stag tramples the snake and destroys it with its breath of water triumphing over the devil and all the sins of nature.
Yet the snake is also the symbol of mother nature, the true creator of living things without sin or judgement. The snake represents the ground we stand on, the water we drink and the air we breathe. It represents the planet that mankind has been so quick to dismiss for heavenly ideals and aspirations.
‘The Seeker’ is both a representation of faiths power and its potency. It questions the relationship that certain belief systems have had with nature, and the way in which it has often been disregarded or wrongly accused. The stag represents a nature that has been shrouded by beliefs masking the power of true creation. It is not faith that we seek but nature itself.
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The Trickster (Hares Heads with custom ceramic bases).
Permanently on display @ The Riviera, Ottawa, Canada.
The Trickster acts as both a conjurer of spirits and a catcher, it is an object of superstition which takes from various global ideas surrounding such beliefs. It is also an exploration into the unusual coupling of ceramics and taxidermy.
Hidden talismans and symbols on the vessel act to conjure and attract dark spirits whilst the circular mirror acts as a catcher. This idea of spirit catchers originates from Old English Witches’ Bottles that were placed at the entrances to homes as a protection against evil. The use of mirrors is prominent in African cultures where it is believed that looking into mirrors catches the soul. The hare-head stopper is taken from Egyptian Canopic jar lids which reperesented different gods depending on the organs they contained. The Hare is often symbolised as the trickster having dual symbolism of good and evil. In many European countries the hare is believed to be a witch’s familiar as well as a positive symbol of fertility, changing of seasons and the moon. It is this double symbolism of good and evil that makes the hare and the vessel a perfect match.
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Vigilant Things (Eider Duck with Porcupine Bodice).
Permanently on display @ The Riviera, Ottawa, Canada.
Vigilant things are reliquary object to nature, they are creatures adorned with materials from the natural world in similar resemblance to the Catholic relics of saints, only without the excesses of grandeur and superiority. The materials used hold their own symbolic references stemming from global and cultural beliefs that are often created from deep understandings and connections with nature. The materials present in the pieces often become just as important as the animal since they are all created from and connected to nature. The symbolic references of the materials also transform the objects into powerful totems holding protective properties through the use of quills or thorns, or the inclusion of bells and other sound-bearing materials allow for these objects to have shamanic properties, becoming instruments with which to navigate the afterlife.
Vigilant things are not only venerations of nature but they are a representation of mankind’s connection with the earth and our connection with our own history as a civilization
