Painting & Printmaking School of Fine Art
Rosie Mitchell
I am a Scottish multi-disciplinary artist based in Glasgow. I aim to combine personal narratives with storytelling, exploring themes of community, ritual, and emotion and how these intertwine. My main modes of expression are through figurative painting, drawing and film making. I use these notions to reflect my heritage and explore the rich history of small towns and traditions throughout the Scottish Borders. Much of my practice is influenced by the history of Eyemouth, St. Abbs and Coldingham (small settlements on the east coast of the Scottish Borders), particularly its fishing industry, and how traditions and celebrations help sustain a sense of identity in the face of economic challenges. I have an emphasis on collaboration, and I aim to work with others in research-based projects and film-making.
My practice is rooted in the autobiographical, and I continually draw on everyday sources and experiences of my own to enhance my research. I aim to combine my own reality with fantasy, escaping the real world in favour of a more exciting one! In the final year of my studies, I specifically looked at my upbringing and how it has shaped me; a journey of self-discovery. As a Scottish artist, it is important in my practice to preserve and showcase cultures that are often forgotten, specifically throughout small towns with individual habits.
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‘The Herring Queen’- Degree Show
‘The Herring Queen’ is a project that began while exploring my heritage. With an interest in Scottish culture and the effects of community on small towns throughout the Scottish Borders. I focused heavily on traditions that lifted spirits in times of hardship. The annual ‘Herring Queen Festival’ includes a week-long parade of drinks, bagpipes, picnics and the coronation of the ‘Herring Queen’, typically a girl aged 14-15, who rules the town for a week. This festival is similar to many others in the border regions and first commenced in 1939, serving as a way to celebrate the war efforts and escape the threat of industrial decline and poverty. I used the notions of this festival to fuel my final project, combining the light-hearted nature of the event with more serious undertones, such as the generational trauma brought forth through the struggles of those in Eyemouth.
To best create an experience that combined my ideas, I decided to create an experience through film. Titled ‘The Herring Queen’, the film tells of the origins of the Queen of Eyemouth and how she achieved her crown. By meeting eclectic characters along the way, she confronts her self-doubts and anxiety after washing ashore on the sands of a stormy beach. As a result, she finds the ‘Sacred Crown of Hymooth’ and transforms into the long-awaited Queen.
Furthermore, I combined my film with paintings I had made throughout the year, as a way to enhance my degree show space and connect visual motifs to the moving image.
