Land artist Julie Brook will give an illustrated talk that charts the evolution of her work and its intimate connection to the Scottish Landscape. From her first forays in Orkney, to living in isolation on the uninhabited island of Jura and then Mingulay, Scotland’s wild and ancient landscape has been a source of vital inspiration for Brook’s work

At first Brook concentrated on painting and capturing the changing light and colour of particular landscapes through the different seasons, however since the 1990s making sculptural works in the landscape itself has become an essential part of Brook’s practice. Living and working in Scotland, has also encouraged Brook to explore other distinctly different landscapes such as Libya, Namibia, Italy and Japan to keep her connection to the land fresh and alive. Brook’s wide range of work can be enjoyed in the exhibition What is it That Will Last? currently on display at Kings Place and this talk promises to give a fascinating insight into these powerful works.

About Julie Brook:

Julie Brook is a British artist who for 30 years has roamed, lived and sculpted in a succession of uninhabited and remote landscapes in North West Scotland: Hoy, Orkney; Jura, West coast; Mingulay and North Harris, Outer Hebrides. Brook studied at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University.

She has explored the black volcanic desert of central Libya and in the Jebel Acacus mountains in South West Libya (2008/2009) and the semi-desert of NW Namibia (2011-2015) where the nature of light, shadow and structure are expressed in the sculptural forms Brook makes. More recently Brook has been working in stone quarries in Japan in relation to developing her tidal work, Firestacks in The Hebrides. The sculptural work is often transient in nature, inspired by and made from the materials of the landscape itself. Brook documents these transformations through film and photography which then become the expression of the work.

She has recently been working in the marble Quarry La Cava di Querciola in Carrara, Italy. In May 2023 Brook opened a major exhibition at Abbot Hall, Kendal, UK with Lakeland Arts ahead of her exhibition at Komatsu Museum, Japan in June. In April 2023 the publication What is it that will last? has been published by Lund Humphries to coincide with these exhibitions.