In 2021 Dovecot Studios collaborated with Jock McFadyen on The Mallaig Commission – to create a major new artwork that interpreted the Scottish artist’s gritty, urban vision through the dramatic sensuality of fine art textile.
McFadyen expresses a dark and romantic fascination with Scotland’s urban landscape in his work, which Dovecot was keen to explore by drawing on the Studios’ expertise in gun-tufted rugs and the effects of colour blending.
McFadyen and Dovecot selected the painting Mallaig 2, 2018 as the starting point for the collaboration. The intense inky blues in this work are particularly suited to being transformed by the depth of colour and the complex undertones that Dovecot’s skilled approach to gun-tufting can achieve. The Artist Proof was started early in 2021 and was being documented through photography, film and display. While visits to Dovecot were restricted, these digital images were an opportunity to see the creation of the artwork in real time, starting with the colour selection and sampling process and then followed by the stretching of canvas, blending of yarns and tufting process.
Mallaig is created in a limited edition of three artworks plus the initial Artist Proof.
Image (top): Keith Hunter
Image (bottom): Ken Gray
