Migrations - A Field Study of Adversity by Derek Robertson

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Lillie Art Gallery will host 'Migrations – a Field Study of Adversity' by Derek Robertson, one of the country's foremost wildlife and landscape artists, between 24th February and 5th April!

About Migrations - A Field Study of Adversity by Derek Robertson

Listed Under Exhibitions Events / Nature Events

Themes of flight, shared humanity and the search for safe harbour will dovetail together in a new exhibition at the Lillie Art Gallery.

For decades, Robertson has been studying and depicting the migration of birds – following them from Africa to the Arctic by their migration routes across the Mediterranean and their home ranges in Europe.

Birds are used as warning indicators of environmental change – their migration patterns reflecting significant climate and habitat shifts.

Robertson said, "Just a few years ago, I watched as 'The Summer of Boats' unfolded into a refugee crisis and I saw newscasters reporting from beaches on Mediterranean islands as desperate people came ashore.

"I recognised these islands as the same places I had travelled to, to watch and sketch migratory birds, and now here were people in a similar state of immediate survival, taking the same lines of flight as the birds I portray.

"The flightways of birds have become the routes of flight for refugees."

'Migrations – a Field Study of Adversity' by Derek Robertson opens on Saturday 24 February at 2.30pm. All welcome. Admission is free.

Derek Robertson BA RSW SSA SAA IWS was born and raised in Fife. He graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee in 1989 and works from his studio in Balmerino, Fife.

He said, "On my travels I spoke to refugees, to locals and to volunteers, and I sketched what I saw: the people, the places and the birds.

"The project challenged me artistically and personally, and I often found myself very far outside my comfort zone. I taught art classes in refugee schools and organised art activities for unaccompanied children in some of the camps.

"I was mugged in Sicily, caught in a riot in Calais, and was escorted off sites by armed police and soldiers, but my experiences were matched by the inspirational humanity of the many refugees and volunteers that I met."

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