David Faithfull

Website: http://www.davidfaithfull.co.uk

Email: david@davidfaithfull.co.uk

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Statement

Fundamental to David's work is his intrinsic relationship to the landscape. Through adopting a palindromic form of visual dichotomy, he subjects the geological and historical palimpsest, of the physical landscape, to creative enquiry. These investigations have included extensive studies on the Scottish Hebrides, particularly on Mull and Jura; and the ‘Jettison’ series of prints, multiples and Artists Books; documenting the crash of a Tornado jet near Torness nuclear power Station, in south-east Scotland.

The contradictions of 'landscape' and the preservation of what we see as aesthetic or natural, let alone the uses we have put it through historically, especially here in Scotland, are issues which in today's current political and environmental landscape grow ever more pressing.

From the introduction of the grazing sheep to the relentless march of pylon across carefully managed grouse moors - we are constantly both the caretaker and the plunderer of this natural habitat. From the felling of oak trees to fire the smelting furnaces of the industrial revolution, and to the replanting of the spruce and larch to enrich the next generation, the landscape is a residue of contradictions and a testament to mankind's ingenuity, endeavor and ignorance.

And as human time frames accelerate towards some inconceivable conclusion, geological time like the half life of the uranium spoils we plunge brutally into the earth's core, stretches out indefinitely in epochs of an almost alien or omnipotent magnitude.

Biography

David Faithfull is an artist, printmaker and curator. He lectures at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and publishes Artists Book, Prints and Multiples under the Semper Fidelis imprint.
Much of his work involves his relationship with the natural environment, through Palindromic and Panoramic forms and sequences. this included the recent residency with Artists Collective 6°W on the Island of Inch kenneth off Mull, the home of the infamous Mitford sisters.
The installation at the SSA's 2013 annual show involved David creating 'Thar Art of Concealment' a project first created with Edinburgh Printmakers at Traquair for the Reflective Histories interventions in the House and Grounds.
He collaborated with the poet John Burnside and the Scottish Book Trust on the Isle of Jura, using traditional iron gall ink, also featuring in Polygon's 'The Spirit of Jura'.
Other publishing collaborations include ‘Centum’ in collaboration with poet Ken Cockburn for the Scottish fund managers Baillie Gifford.
Additional projects involve curating the highly acclaimed travelling Artists Book exhibition ‘Inkubator’ 2007 – 2011 and creating a series of prints for the Halifax/Bank of Scotland, using shredded banknotes, reflecting the 2009 stock market crash.
He has exhibited extensively and has work in collections including the Tate Britain, London; the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh and the Hunterian, Glasgow; as well as numerous private collections internationally.
He is currently on the board of Edinburgh Printmakers and was on the SSA Board from 2010 - 2013.