Portia Knight
- Work
- Biography
My work is born from a series of developing relationships and connections. Our home on the North East coast of Scotland is a refuge where my interest in seaweed grew from studying the Victorian art of seaweed pressing and daily walks along the tideline. The complex variety of colour, texture and form was a revelation that I feel compelled to explore. Environmental awareness is key, and in subverting the common perception of seaweed as a slimy, smelly tangle to be avoided, I’m aligning myself with not only those shore hunters of the past, but also the people currently looking to seaweed for solutions to climate change and the problems of sustainability.
Rather than considering pressed seaweed as concluded work, more recently I have approached seaweed as a found object to be utilised in other media. Whether I’m making printed works on paper, or tentative forays into sculpture, my evolving practice is always based on engagement with the material. I spend a lot of time exploring the properties of individual seaweeds, learning how they behave when wet and dry, manipulating and experimenting as I collect, and observing changes over time. Wild materials are seasonal, and even in Scotland, suitable specimens are hard won. But they convey a vital and intimate connection to place and process.
Rather than considering pressed seaweed as concluded work, more recently I have approached seaweed as a found object to be utilised in other media. Whether I’m making printed works on paper, or tentative forays into sculpture, my evolving practice is always based on engagement with the material. I spend a lot of time exploring the properties of individual seaweeds, learning how they behave when wet and dry, manipulating and experimenting as I collect, and observing changes over time. Wild materials are seasonal, and even in Scotland, suitable specimens are hard won. But they convey a vital and intimate connection to place and process.
Website: portiaknight.com
Instagram: @portiaknightseaweed
Education:
History of Art, BA, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, 1992
Stockists:
FOLD, The Barn, Burn O Bennie, Banchory, AB31 5QA, Scotland
The Ceilidh Place Bookshop, 14 West Argyle Street, Ullapool, Wester Ross, IV26 2TY, Scotland
Rooted, 144 Rosemount Place, Aberdeen, AB25 2YU, Scotland
Gairloch Museum, Achtercairn, Gairloch, IV21 2BH, Scotland
LAND ART Agency & collective (online) www.landartagency.com
Made in Hastings, 82 High St, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3EL
EDIT, Unit 11, Bon Accord Centre, Aberdeen, AB25 1HZ, Scotland
The Found Gallery, 84 High St, Dunbar, EH42 1JH, Scotland
Fairs:
The Gallery at Green and Stone Christmas Fair, 251 - 253 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6HY, Nov 29, 2023 – Jan 5, 2024
Aberdeen Art Gallery Summer Market, Teagreen events, Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FQ
July 1 – 2, 2023
Handmade Oxford, Waterperry Gardens, Oxford, OX33 1LA, June 16 -18, 2023
Exhibitions:
ATELIER BESIDE THE SEA OPEN EXHIBITION 2025, Atelier Beside The Sea, 165 Kings Road Arches, Brighton, BN1 1NB, July 25 – September 14, 2025
ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION, Royal Academy, 6 Burlington Gardens, London, W1S 3ET, June 17 – August 17, 2025
THE PRINTMAKERS 25, Milton Art Gallery, Milton of Crathes, Banchory, AB31 5QH, Scotland, May 1 – June 22, 2025
TIME AND TIDE, Solo Exhibition, Emerald Frames and Gallery, Unit 1, Blays Road, Chalfont St Peter, Gerrards Cross, SL99EW, Oct 26, 2024 – Nov 16, 2024
IRONBRIDGE PRINTMAKING COMPETITION AND EXHIBITION 2024, Ironbridge Fine Arts, Shropshire, TF8 7NJ, Sept 8 2024 – Nov 16, 2024
MEMBERS SHOW, An Talla Solais, Market St, Ullapool, IV26 2XE, Aug 9, 2024– Sept 29, 2024
ULAIDLEAN/TREASURES, Society of Scottish Artists
Instagram: @portiaknightseaweed
Education:
History of Art, BA, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, 1992
Stockists:
FOLD, The Barn, Burn O Bennie, Banchory, AB31 5QA, Scotland
The Ceilidh Place Bookshop, 14 West Argyle Street, Ullapool, Wester Ross, IV26 2TY, Scotland
Rooted, 144 Rosemount Place, Aberdeen, AB25 2YU, Scotland
Gairloch Museum, Achtercairn, Gairloch, IV21 2BH, Scotland
LAND ART Agency & collective (online) www.landartagency.com
Made in Hastings, 82 High St, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3EL
EDIT, Unit 11, Bon Accord Centre, Aberdeen, AB25 1HZ, Scotland
The Found Gallery, 84 High St, Dunbar, EH42 1JH, Scotland
Fairs:
The Gallery at Green and Stone Christmas Fair, 251 - 253 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6HY, Nov 29, 2023 – Jan 5, 2024
Aberdeen Art Gallery Summer Market, Teagreen events, Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FQ
July 1 – 2, 2023
Handmade Oxford, Waterperry Gardens, Oxford, OX33 1LA, June 16 -18, 2023
Exhibitions:
ATELIER BESIDE THE SEA OPEN EXHIBITION 2025, Atelier Beside The Sea, 165 Kings Road Arches, Brighton, BN1 1NB, July 25 – September 14, 2025
ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION, Royal Academy, 6 Burlington Gardens, London, W1S 3ET, June 17 – August 17, 2025
THE PRINTMAKERS 25, Milton Art Gallery, Milton of Crathes, Banchory, AB31 5QH, Scotland, May 1 – June 22, 2025
TIME AND TIDE, Solo Exhibition, Emerald Frames and Gallery, Unit 1, Blays Road, Chalfont St Peter, Gerrards Cross, SL99EW, Oct 26, 2024 – Nov 16, 2024
IRONBRIDGE PRINTMAKING COMPETITION AND EXHIBITION 2024, Ironbridge Fine Arts, Shropshire, TF8 7NJ, Sept 8 2024 – Nov 16, 2024
MEMBERS SHOW, An Talla Solais, Market St, Ullapool, IV26 2XE, Aug 9, 2024– Sept 29, 2024
ULAIDLEAN/TREASURES, Society of Scottish Artists
- Portia Knight
- Shoreline Habits II
- Printmaking
- Portia Knight
- Pressed Egg Wrack Shadow Box
- Found Objects
- Portia Knight
- Pressed Serrated Wrack and Gut Weed
- Found Objects
- Portia Knight
- Dabberlocks
- Printmaking
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