Orla Kane
“Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.”
Reimagining The Landscape
Orla Kane (b.1999) is a Scottish artist based in Glasgow. She graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2021. Her most recent show of drawings and paintings, “Fields Adrift”, at the Blu Shop Gallery brought a fresh perspective to the contemporary art scene in London. I met her on a cold, sunny London morning in a quiet corner of a Camberwell coffee shop. We had tea and eased into conversation. She spoke with the same calm and sweetness that is reflected in her works. Isolated from the noise and commotion of the big city, Orla’s artistic practice is deeply connected to nature. Drawing not from skyscrapers but trees, not concrete sidewalks but green grass.
Orla Kane, Picnic. Coloured pencil on paper, 76 x 57cm. Photo Courtesy: Blue Shop Gallery.
In the Japanese language, the word hara can mean field, green, or meadow, evoking images of open and expansive landscapes. It can also translate literally to ‘belly,’ referring to the origin of someone, the vital energy and true nature. Orla Kane’s works reimagine the landscapes of the rural Scottish Borders where she spent her childhood. Butterflies, flowers, and stars are some of the motifs that inhabit her works and repeat as a mantra. The figurative figures refer to a visible word. The abstract elements, such as the superposition of colours and lines, refer instead to an invisible matter: they are expressions of Orla's inner self. Similar to the Japanese hara, her drawings depict at once a landscape and a state of mind. They are meant to accompany the invisible aspects of her thoughts that are inexpressible through words.
Orla's approach to art is different from that of many contemporary artists. Her artistic practice does not rely on visual references but instead, draws inspiration from her memories, which she uses as an endless source and fountain of knowledge that pours into her works. "I don't use any reference. I kind of use writing, scrabble notes, things (...) That is my reference, in a way," she explains. This is what makes her paintings and drawings unique: they are born from within, unmediated in their creation and, pure in essence of the author.
Orla Kane, Fever Dream on an Ice Rink. Coloured pencil on paper, 31 x 23.5cm. Photo Courtesy: Blue Shop Gallery.
This inner self is reflected both in the shapes of her works and in the use of colours. Colours transform, much like trees with the changing seasons, akin to the transition from day to night. From the lightness of "Fern" to the darkness of "Fever Dream on an Ice Rink," Orla's play with colour evokes a sense of depth and comfort, co-existing simultaneously. Even in the darkness, her work is gentle, mystical, non-threatening. As if inviting the inhabitancy of magical creatures, the landscape becomes an oasis where even butterflies come to visit.
Orla Kane, Fern. Soft pastel and Coloured pencil on paper, 21 x 18.5cm. Photo Courtesy: Blue Shop Gallery.
Orla paints in oil, crayon, and pen, but mainly, she draws. The strength exercised in the act of drawing allows her to move the oil painting as a privileged medium. She becomes a co-creator in the infinite world of drawing, never ceasing to surprise us as eager spectators in a realm of fantasy. One of her works, 'Picnic', reaches 1 meter in length and 60 cm in height and centres a flower that expands beyond the paper's limits. As in most of her works, the literal figure of the flower is altered to give way to abstraction. The hand of the artist makes it as if there was something in those fields that made the figure vanish until only layers of coloured pencil remain. A product of magic-a creation of fairies. Her works, in the words of the artist herself, represent “fairy fields,” in which they play magic tricks on us.
As Orla's world moves, literally and metaphorically, her paintings accompany her. Growth, decomposition, and transformation. This is the foundation of her artistic practice: movement, change and being alive. Therein lies the mystery of that which can be observed.
To discover more about Orla Kane’s work, connect via Instagram or visit her website.
Mora Pranteda
Emerging Artists Co-Editor, MADE IN BED