Former Tain Academy pupil lands exhibition with Royal Scottish Academy
A former Tain Royal Academy student has been busy exhibiting his artwork across the country after taking inspiration from feeling like something 'other' in his Highland hometown.
Now living in Glasgow, Finn Robinson (23) grew up with his mum in Tain and his dad in Bonar Bridge, and first established his passion for art as a teenager at Tain Royal Academy. Finn graduated with a BA in fine art from Glasgow School of Art in 2022, and has since been busy exhibiting his art across the country, including his first solo exhibition.
Finn said: "The art teachers at Tain Royal Academy provided me with all the support, guidance, and critique I needed to establish my passion for art. Deborah Marshall, Christel Smeets, and Andrew Douglas provided me with a safe and friendly place to begin getting to grips with who I was and what I wanted to do.
"The art department at TRA was a safe little haven for me to escape to, especially during free periods and lunchtimes, where I could paint and forget what was happening outside the department for a while. I also had lots help and support when I was applying to art school from Kirstie Trimble, who teaches art at Dingwall Academy."
In January, Finn held his first solo–exhibition titled 'Suggested for You' at SaltSpace Co-operative Gallery in Glasgow. The exhibition looks to understand the role social media plays in Finn's life, and how it might fuse with memories of home, belonging, and acceptance.
Finn said: "I’m interested in the role social media plays in my understanding of self, and I enjoy letting algorithms decide what I find interesting in my feeds and subsequently, my work. An over-saturation of images is often associated with advertising and social media, which are both sources of inspiration to me. Getting mindlessly lost scrolling online is a lot like wandering aimlessly in a forest; both are cathartic moments where the mind is full of stimulation, but also empty of any meaningful thought.
"People curate whole personas online to be accepted through conforming, which isn’t dissimilar to some of the pressures I used to feel growing up; I think both stem from a desire to fit in and belong.
"My work delves deeper into the misconceptions I developed as a teenager imagining my 'escape' to the big city. You see, when I did 'escape' I became desperately homesick and quite quickly realised 'the city' wasn’t all the cliched coming–of–age films promised me it would be! Painting into existence a strange world halfway between the Highlands in my memories, and the city of my teenage imagination feels like I’m fusing different elements of myself into layers of truths, lies, exaggerations, and idealisms, and illustrates love for a place I once wanted so badly to escape."
Finn has also exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, as a part of the Society of Scottish Artists' 130 Year anniversary exhibition, along with an upcoming show in London, and another exhibition next year in Edinburgh for the Royal Scottish Academy's New Contemporaries exhibiton. The young artist also has hopes in the future to find a gallery or venue in the Highlands to show some work in too.
He said: "I think my work is deeply connected to the Highlands, although maybe it isn't immediately apparent. I tend to explore themes of identity and self–hood, specifically my experience growing up and feeling like something 'other' in small Highland towns.
"If I hadn’t grown up in the Highlands, I wouldn’t be making the work I am today. Whenever I was pulled away from my desk to go for a walk with the dogs or to visit family, I would take my camera with me. I used to take hundreds of photos of the same hills, and the same trees, and I never really knew what to do with them. Over the last couple of years they became an integral part of my practice, and I am now so glad to have so many images of home to refer to whilst painting.
"I do feel as though a lot of what I've been searching for in myself can often be found within Highland landscapes. Metaphorically, they can be vast and empty, or they can be closed off and intimate, terrifyingly dense, and yet familiarly comforting, and they provide the perfect place to clear your mind and try to piece together who you are."
Finn also credits his grandparents and parents as an important source of encouragement and support in his artistic career. He said: "I remember from a very young age being mystified by their huge collection of art books and curious pictures on their walls. My Granny especially held a deep appreciation and knowledge of art which she often shared with me, and though she passed away before I left school, she always said I would go on to first study at the Glasgow School of Art, and then to a career as an artist.
"My Mum, Dad, and Step–Mum have always been incredibly supportive of me. Knowing that they believe in me acts as continuous reassurance, I struggle to articulate how much it means to me. All my family are wonderfully supportive. I have particularly fond memories of getting the marker pens out at my godparent's house, and drawing at the kitchen table while we watch the woodpeckers out the window."
