return to origins exhibition

This exhibition is composed of paintings from both the songlands series - produced in Canada and the whale-back series - produced in Scotland.

Both series came after 6 years of transformational painting on the conwy estuary in north wales, uk. the influential estuary environment drove allan's painting into a dynamic fusion of ancient origins & contemporary art. the subsequent transformation of consciousness & attunement to nature in his work began a remarkable process. this HAS laid down the core ecological foundations for allan's work and RESULTED IN THiS VERY unique SERIES OF PAINTINGS.

The Songland series was painted in Canada between 2013 and 2015. Allan had studios first in Kingston on Lake Ontario and then in North Hatley, Quebec on Lake Massawippi. The name of this series came in the Spring of 2015 when a great chorus erupted from the wetland frogs, close to his studio after one of the coldest winters for many years. His then two-year-old daughter called the cacophony 'the songing'. This inspired him to produce a painting called 'The Songing', an  interpretation of the frogs' early spring wetland environment, albeit constructed with a parallel landscape in the lower aperture. This painting provided momentum which was reinforced by the arrival of the hummingbirds and Urubu (turkey vultures) from the south. After the long severe winter all of this created a feeling in him of exhilaration and provided the energy to pursue 'Songlands', an ancient landscape of originator beings. This momentum next carried him into a flowing and vibrant consciousness that produced another painting of the highest order 'Ancient Songlands'. This is a beautiful haunting painting of spirit beings and as the incantation explains 'it calls out our origins across the parallel worlds - joining what is forgotten - our living soul. He refers to this as a 'mother painting'.

In this series of work he was able to make exceptional attunement to the elemental nature of Eastern Canada and the ancient presence of aboriginal humans. By responding to the place through his own psychic aboriginal roots he was able to make an intimate connection with its ecological powers and powerful aboriginal psyche. These experiences expanded his consciousness of ancestry and, in particular, ancient aboriginal custodianship of the earth from within nature. This has led to his paintings becoming 'image-stories' that connect us back to our original ecological minds and bodies. 

At the end of 2015, Allan arrived back in Scotland where he established a studio on the River Tweed in the Scottish Borderlands. He began his attunement to his new working environment through an encounter with a number of significant trees that led to a focus on the Old Caledonian Wild-Wood that once covered this area after the last Glacial Maximum. This lead to a shift in consciousness that brought his attention to a great 'Whale-being' - swimming in the landscape. After this period of re-attunement, he is now continuing this remarkable developmental process with a collection of paintings called 'The Whale-back Series'. The name is taken from the whale-back profile of the remnants of the 400 million-year-old volcano, now known as 'The Cheviot Hill' and seen from the land where he built his new studio. The 'whale-back' is the dominating yet elusive feature of the local landscape and has provided a focal point for his psychic attunement to the place and has consequently become highly significant in the development of this work. This being, with its ever-changing form and colour, is providing a psychic entry point - a cleft in the visible world that is allowing a psycho-archaeological exploration of the multi-layered and ancient collective unconscious of the place. 

The paintings evolving in this work are being shaped by the retrieval of ancient psychic images. After the focus on the Wild-Woods lead to a deeper focus on the 'whale-back' there was a shift and opening up to other organic images and figures. These images were immediately shape-shifting, seemingly both alchemical and shamanic. Alchemical in the primal process of mixing and changing form - flora, fauna and earth and shamanic in the sense of the painter being the intermediary in the process.    

Allan is producing 'image-stories' that connect us back to our original ecological mind-set and engender respect and a sensuous connection within nature. These paintings provide a connection directly into the present and allow us to see our place in nature with very different eyes. 

Some paintings are accompanied by what Allan refers to as 'an incantation' - they form part of the title of the work. These are his own interpretations of each painting as an 'image-story' in line with the core conceptualisation of his work. These incantations are only crafted after a work is complete and are intended to enhance the understanding and experience of the painting. 

The Whale-back Series is progressing and new work will be added to this online exhibition as it becomes available. The exhibition will form the foundation of the work available to be shown locally, nationally and internationally.    

Dedication: I dedicate the series of Songland paintings to the First Nations people of Canada past, present and future and in particular, the Abenaki people of 'Dawnland'.  - Allan Renshaw

Curation: This exhibition has been curated by Katrine Rustad. It has been curated according to tonality and balance between paintings and the incantations themselves, resulting in pairings that have a particular cadence with each other - creating an optimal viewing experience both collectively and on an individual basis. We hope you get pleasure from the paintings and that this Return To Origins exhibition inspires you to subscribe to our mailing list.