An exhibition of new works by Scots born, Australian based, artist Joseph McGlennon, will be opening at The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh on Thursday 9th July. The exhibition will run until Saturday 29th August.

‘When I was a boy living in Glasgow, my granny had a biscuit tin she kept in a secret place. I would see her carefully removing thing from it once in a while and, over time, realised it was where she kept the household money. On the tin was printed a bulky red stag against the violet hills and watery skies of an isolated Scottish wilderness. It was Sir Edwin Landseer’s The Monarch of the Glen – a more fitting fiscal guardian would be hard to find.

I have always been drawn to the formality of Victorian painting; its structure and pictures layered with meanings that are understood through a shared knowledge of symbols and their context. The images in this exhibition are set against the dramatic landscapes of the Isle of Skye and the stunning Attadale Estate. These regal stags are the protagonists in a narrative that needs to be unravelled by closer inspection.

Working with taxidermy departments at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh and the Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow, I am able to invite scrutiny that might otherwise be difficult to achieve. The viewer will discover that both the foreground and the distant landscape are not just washes of colour, but rich in the kind of absorbing detail that only close proximity can fully reveal. The taxidermy brings its own legacy and history.’ Joseph McGlennon July 2015

The exhibition consists of a series of 8 large scale giclee digital prints with framed works ranging from £3,500 - £6,000.