McMurough, Alice, RSW
b. 1956
The artist has written of her practise; "In my artwork, I create connections. I use distortion, metaphor and symbolism, in a context free from chronological time and precise place. I intertwine memories of personal events with contemporary issues, family legends, cultural myths and religious fables. Objects, colour and scale are employed for symbolic reasons. I often find archetypes in old children’s books, toys and television programmes. I aim for an attention that children have for the world, before ritual and maturity strips life of its daily magic. The resulting images display theatrical characters on stage-like sets, inviting open narratives and subjective interpretations. Unlike nineteenth century Tableaux Vivants, my work revels in the absence of an authoritative reading. I invite the viewer to engage with the paintings and derive their own interpretation." The artist was elected a professional member of both the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) and of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) in 2013. The artist was the recipient of the Edinburgh Art Shop Award through the RSA in 2015 McMurrough is married to fellow painter Neil MacDonald RGI RSW
