Made by Land

In my ‘Made by Land’ series, I draw inspiration from rural landscapes, primarily in Scotland but sometimes further afield. I’m particularly interested in places shaped by centuries of human presence, labour, and change, including landscapes transformed during the Highland Clearances of the mid-18th century.

SERIES STATEMENT

What remains of these once-thriving communities are the structures left behind, roofless croft houses, their weathered stone walls a fractured patchwork on otherwise empty land. Faint paths lead to fields once divided by family and crop. Runrigs comb the hillsides, a reminder of the hardships endured as the land was worked to feed those now gone. These empty places ignite his curiosity: who lived here, and where did they go?

In my work, I use old maps from the national archives to trace ancient drover roads that once connected isolated villages across vast landscapes. By running to these remote spots, I sketch the footprints of buildings and the marks left on the land. I finds the stillness of these forgotten places haunting, yet strangely beautiful.

SERIES FILM: MADE BY LAND

A short film exploring how trail running shapes my practice, moving through the landscape of the Isle of Mull, my grandmother’s home, and the cleared village of Inivea on Scotland’s west coast.