Remembrance art to be installed at St Giles Cathedral

An art installation is to be unveiled at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh to mark Remembrance Week 2018.

Alison Kinnaird has been invited to show her installation ‘Unknown’ from 1-15 November.

This artwork is the artist’s response to the present state of conflict in so many parts of the world and the fact that we never seem to learn from the experiences of the past.

Glass seemed the ideal medium in which to comment on the fragility of human life in war.

This work was completed over a three-year period, and is made up of many uniquely engraved soldiers arranged in ranks – though they appear uniform, each is an individual.

There are references to the Terracotta Army of the Chinese emperors, as well as fairground shooting galleries. Also included are a number of civilian figures – ‘collateral damage’ affects us all.

Kinnaird combines the ancient art of wheel-engraving with modern techniques of water-jet cutting, sand-blasting, LED lighting, and hand painting on the textile background.

Artist Alison Kinnaird (Photo: Anna Colliton)

The installation was initially exhibited in the Scottish Parliament in 2014, before going on display in various venues in Scotland; touring a number of Art Galleries, Museums and National Trust properties, in association with Poppy Scotland.

Alison has an international reputation as an artist working in glass. Born in Edinburgh, she studied Archaeology and Celtic Studies at Edinburgh University, but discovered glass-engraving in the studio of Harold Gordon in Forres.

She has work in many public and private collections throughout the world, including the V&A Museum, Corning Museum of Glass, NY and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

In 2002 she received a Creative Scotland Award which allowed her to experiment with combining light and glass, resulting in Psalmsong, now in the Scottish Parliament Collection. She also has a parallel career as one of the foremost players of the Sottish harp, and in 1997 was awarded MBE for services to Art and Music.

Find more information visit www.alisonkinnaird.com/news/unknown.