Alice Angus Scottish Artist

WE ARE DELIGHTED TO PARTNER WITH SCOTTISH ARTIST ALICE ANGUS, WHO IS CREATING A SERIES OF ARTWORK SHOWCASING THE DISTILLERY AND ITS REMARKABLE PLACE IN THE HISTORIC AND INDUSTRIOUS COMMUNITY

Since January, Alice has spent days drawing in the distillery and around Campbeltown to absorb its essence and take inspiration for her final four artworks which will be unveiled at the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2022 in May.

The ‘Spirits Safe’ exhibition will focus on the spirit and atmosphere of our native home and artistically bring to life the knowledge, engineering and ingredients involved in the creation of the ‘golden spirit’ that matures in our warehouses. It will also uncover aspects of the heritage, people, landscape and wildlife of Campbeltown and celebrate the renaissance of the town on the international whisky-production map.

artist in residence

Like whisky production, Alice’s technique involves patience, time
and experimentation. She uses pencil, watercolour and ink to draw from life, spending a long time observing her surroundings through sight, sound, smell and touch, often waiting for the right moment, drawing similarities with the time and craftsmanshiprequired in whisky-making. Some of her works are completed on-site directly from life and others are developed in the studio into larger-scale artworks.

With a keen curiosity in her natural surroundings, Alice Angus was educated at Glasgow School of Art, later relocating to London. However, she remains forever inspired by the country and splits her time between the two places. Her body of work includes works on paper, video, audio and textiles and ranges from large curatorial, collaborative projects to individual commissions, public artworks, community projects and research. She has undertaken residencies and projects in many places, urban and rural, from Lancaster to the Canadian Arctic.

“My Spirit Safe series was inspired by the generations of dedicated people, the Campbeltown community, the unique coastal landscape, the ingredients, skills, engineering, and care that goes into making Glen Scotia, and all rhythms of time across hours, days, years, and decades involved in its creation”.

Alice Angus
Artist in Residence

No.1

First Water

"Spending many hours in the mash room and in the hills above the town, I was inspired by the moment the barley, having been milled in a machine that dates back to the 1950s, meets water from high up in Crosshill Loch. It pours out of a copper pipe into the mashtun, filling the room with heat, steam and the aroma of cooking barley. It is a hands-on process; the mashman, while paying close attention and controlling temperature and flow, takes care of the lengthy process.”

Alice Angus

No.2

Heart of the Run

"Even in cold winter days the still room is hot. I often sat close to the stills to draw them and felt like the whole space was filled with a fiery orange glow and heat. The room is full of sounds, from the creak of the stills, the deep musical clang of the man-door opening, and the hiss of the steam escaping. The stillman constantly checks, adjusts, and waits for just the right moment. When the spirit is ready its aroma escapes the spirit safe and fills the room. When I went outside to cool down, the rooks and hooded crows of Campbeltown hopped about on the warehouse roof, and sometimes I could smell the crash of waves on the wind as it drifted through the courtyard.”

Alice Angus

No.3

Labour of Years

"I spent some bitterly cold winter days drawing in the dark silent warehouses. The aromas changed and shifted throughout the day, as air moved around the maturing casks. Every cask is unique, and it made me keenly aware of the generations of distillery workers that have looked after them as the spirit matured over decades. Sitting in the still quiet of the warehouses, the bursts of laughter and energy brought by visitors on tastings were like fleeting moments against the time the casks remain still and waiting.”

Alice Angus

No.4

Time and Tide

"I spent many hours drawing on the coast as the tide came and went, storms and sun passed over and finally birdlife came in to roost at the end of the day. I watched ferries and fishing boats come and go and met people who travelled from far away across the water to this malt making region where the smell of the sea is found in the whisky. They are surprised to find huge palm trees growing in the warm gulf stream climate, next to hardy fragrant gorse, eiders cooing in the bay and ravens calling overhead.”

Alice Angus