“It’s a joy I want to get closer to, to understand and in some ways, to fulfil.”

-Stanley Spencer on his time in Port Glasgow

I completed a project in my birthplace of Port Glasgow entitled “Tea for Talk:” an informal chat with residents in a local charity café on the subject of Spencer’s life and legacy. His Port Glasgow Resurrections[1] have become a tribute to the strong community spirit that still exists in many parts of Inverclyde. My main aim was to spread awareness of the town’s strong artistic heritage, which has largely been ignored over years of economic uncertainty. Art education for the masses is a pressing issue in contemporary Scotland and I believe that the only way forward is for artists to engage as much as possible with small- town communities. 

“We inhabit a place when we give something to it and when we can open ourselves to receive what it has to offer.” –Alan Moore