Turning Towards The Light | Tansy Lee Moir
4 March to 26 June 2022
An exhibition of oil paintings and drawings exploring the complexity, vitality and sculptural presence of ancient trees.
As humans we are both fascinated by darkness and compelled to turn towards the light. This exhibition brings together three bodies of work by artist Tansy Lee Moir which combine light, shade and movement to draw attention to our relationship to trees.
Like most plants, trees employ phototropism, meaning they grow towards the light to maximise available energy. Although they turn far too slowly for human detection, they are constantly moving in response to their environment; twisting, reaching and flowing towards the sun. The work presented here is about that sense of movement, as if we were able to observe tree-time sped up to match our own.
Tansy Lee Moir's drawings, made in the woodland with sanguine and conté, seek to capture the life force of trees as they constantly realign themselves. Her charcoals depict ancient oaks with a fluid dynamism reminiscent of water, their growth shaped over centuries. Her richly layered oil paintings use dramatic chiaroscuro to convey the solidity and stoicism of veteran beech trees emerging through crisp winter light.
Tansy Lee Moir is an artist and educator based in South Queensferry, working in charcoal, pastel and oil and teaching drawing online and in person. She has exhibited widely since 2011 and has work in private collections around the UK and internationally. In 2016-17 she was artist in residence at Howden Park Centre, Livingston.
Image caption: Grounded by Tansy Lee Moir. Artist website: www.tansyleemoir.co.uk (opens new window)