When the Moors Settle, North Yorkshire

Oil and mixed media, including stone dust on canvas
100cm x 120cm

Virginia’s work invites us to contemplate ideas of how Landscape has evolved and continues to evolve and regenerate through natural and human industrial processes.

At the heart of her practice is a belief in the importance of landscape in reflecting the evolution of nature and an expression of cultural identity and self.

Virginia uses an extensive range of materials including mixed media, natural materials from the land, photographs and the written word. Virginia informs her work by walking the land, recording and photographing unique scenic aspects and re tracing the footsteps of those who once populated these areas.

​Virginia is a MA graduate of UCA Farnham, studied History at Lancaster University and has a PGCE from Durham University

I was born and raised in Pateley Bridge in the heart of Nidderdale, North Yorkshire. My family have lived and worked on the land here for generations but it was whilst studying for my MA, that I began to question the ‘pull’ and ‘the sense of belonging’ that I have when in my native Yorkshire.

‘When The Moors Settle’, explores my relationship with the land.

The incorporated stone dust is collected from the workings of my uncle who is a stone mason, working with locally quarried stone. Stone dust is incorporated into the paintings to create texture but also to remind the viewer of our rich industrial heritage.