We were pleased to be joined by photographer Sophie Gerrard and the renowned writer and artist Amanda Thomson. For both of our speakers, their experience of the Scottish landscape has been shaped by both walking and discovering untold stories of people connected to the land in both past and present. Together they will be discussing notions of place as they are applied to both land ownership and land custodianship. Sophie’s practice is characterised by sensitive and evocative visual exploration of the natural environment and landscape and our relationship to it. The central concerns of her work are people, environmental connection, identity, and belonging, drawing from archives and personal narratives. Her recent project, Drawn to the Land, has been ongoing and evolving for the past 10 years and aims to look at ‘Scottish landscape’ through the perspective of six female farmers ‘who are working, forming and shaping it.’

In her book Belonging, Amanda investigates notions of home and belonging within a Scottish context; therein, she discusses her identity as a Black Scottish person, as well as a sense of belonging she found up North in the countryside around Aberfeldy. Thomson has created drawings which trace the path of her daily outdoor walks using a GPS device; in the resulting sketches, her lines of movement are most pronounced around her house, visually witnessing and solidifying her belonging to that home, and etching her into its coordinates. Her remarkable writing shares an intimate insight into the forests she describes, coming to life through her intricate knowledge of trees, birds, and other inhabitants. 

In her writing, we can recognise forests as places through which to access the past, the present, and the future. While the Scottish Highlands are known for their natural beauty and are often perceived as untouched, the look of most Scottish land is the result of anthropogenic management and particularly the effects of agriculture and livestock. The focus on anthropogenic influences and changes that have shaped the Scottish landscape in ecological, sociological and cultural terms is a common theme in both Amanda and Sophie’s work. Further, their talk will frame the Scottish landscape as a place that contains as much energy as it requires from those who move through it. Their practices both explore ways to engage directly with a place – the energy we spent can help to put down roots, which Amanda and Sophie will discuss in regard to questions of home and belonging.