
Fife artist Caroline Walker's work joins Tracey Emin's in DCA's 'On Art and Motherhood' exhibition
DCA's current show arrives as a coup for the Dundee-based arts centre. From London's Hayward Gallery, Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood includes major names such as Margate, Kent's Tracey Emin and Portuguese painter Paula Rego.
Another featured artist, though, hails from Courier Country. Born and raised in Dunfermline, Caroline Walker made her name in London.
She has since returned to Fife's south coast – taking on a derelict 18th century steading north of Inverkeithing.
Having lived down south for 14 years, in 2022 Caroline moved back with her architect husband to seek more space for work and their growing family. 'We had quite a good set up, but my studio and our flat were all very small,' she explains.
'We had one child, wanted to have another one and the opportunity to do a building project up here seemed something that wouldn't be available in London.
'My career was established enough that I didn't have to be there all the time and I suppose we wanted family support for our young children.'
Anyone familiar with Caroline's success may already be familiar with her family members. Care and female labour, both paid and unpaid, have become important inspirations.
Her children, Daphne, aged two, and five-year-old Laurie often appear, as does the artist's mum Janet.
Caroline attended Queen Anne High School, Dunfermline, before Glasgow School of Art and London's Royal College of Art. She fondly remembers how Janet encouraged her creativity.
'From an early age I was crazy about drawing, while I have lots of memories of mum taking me to Kirkcaldy Galleries and the National Galleries [of Scotland, Edinburgh],' she says.
'She got me some oil paints when I was 12 and that was quite exciting.'
With those first pigments, Caroline copied images of what she fondly calls 'fancy ladies', the captivating subjects of historical portraits by painters such as Gainsborough, the Scottish Colourists and Glasgow Boys.
While her subject matter has developed, the artist has stayed with a medium seen as unfashionable when she arrived at Glasgow in 2000, though later came back in to vogue.
'When I started art school, nobody was painting, apart from maybe a couple who'd be totally abstract,' Caroline says. 'I definitely didn't feel like one of the stars of the year. Though by the time I graduated, painting was having a bit of a moment.'
While artists such as the Belgian Luc Tuymans showed paint could still be relevant, Caroline was sticking to her guns, she reveals: 'I like how immediate paint is: you want to put a mark down and there it is. You can quickly describe the world around you.'
Later on, while studying for an MA in London, Caroline began to find her calling by thinking back to those 'fancy ladies'. She explains: 'Almost all those historical paintings l'd enjoyed were painted by men.
'That was the start of me more consciously deciding to make work about women's lives and what I could bring to that.'
Since then, Caroline has presented several series on women in the workplace – including one on the Little Bugs nursery, Dunfermline, that her daughter attended.
Some proceeds from sales of those works paid for an art studio she opened there in November.
Her homemaker mother – now a cherished grandparent – became the subject of a 2020 show at Edinburgh's Ingleby Gallery.
Her still life of feeding bottles in the DCA comes from a series made about her sister-in-law Lisa, while this spring Caroline has earned a prestigious retrospective exhibition at The Hepworth in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. This includes a documentary about her also to be shown at DCA alongside a Q&A with the artist.
Being filmed over three years has been an awkward, though rewarding, experience, Caroline admits. 'Watching the rough cuts felt overwhelming,' she says. 'They captured the most intense period of my life.
'My career has really taken off, but we've been through pregnancy and this big building project. I think there's a connection between motherhood as a subject and the circumstances in which I was making the work.'
Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood runs at DCA until July 13, Caroline Walker: Women's Work film and Q&A July 3.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time Out
15 minutes ago
- Time Out
Discover NYC's hidden history of enslavement at these new augmented reality memorials
When slavery is taught in an educational setting, perspectives are often erased or overlooked. Marcus Brown, a New Orleans-based artist with enslaved African ancestors, aims to share the stories of enslaved people with four free Augmented Reality (AR) exhibitions across New York City opening July 25 and running through July 2026. As part of the city's Arts in the Park initiative, Brown's " Slavery Trails" takes historical sites that are tied to slavery and crafts them into digital memorials using sculpture and AR that visitors may access via mobile device. Manhattan will house two exhibitions while Brooklyn and Queens will showcase one; "merging technology, music and history into public memory spaces that honor the enslaved and challenge contemporary narratives," according to a press release about the exhibition. Manhattan's two sculptures are titled "The Slave Market: Wall Street" and "New York Slave Conspiracy of 1741. Brooklyn and Queens work together to tell "American Gold III" and "American Gold IV," respectively. In Manhattan, "The Slave Market: Wall Street" makes visible the enslaved Africans and Native Americans who were bought and sold during the 1711 New York slave market. The second installation in Manhattan, titled "New York Slave Conspiracy of 1741," brings attention to the mass hysteria in response to mysterious fires which led to the execution and exile of primarily Black and enslaved New Yorkers. Both are located in City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan. In Brooklyn and Queens, "American Gold III & IV" debut golden sculptures of enslaved people overseas on slave ships in the Middle Passage. The Brooklyn artwork is located at Bush Terminal Park; in Queens, find the artwork at Astoria Park. "My mission is to create artworks that educate the public on important issues while crossing media and societal boundaries," Brown said on his website. "As an artist with enslaved African ancestors, I feel a responsibility to use my work to tell their stories. To create new works that empower and bring everyone together. I see my role as an artist as a technical, scholarly, and performative one." I feel a responsibility to use my work to tell their stories. Each piece comes equipped with more information available via mobile device and merges site-specific research with AR sculpture and sound. Brown's goal with the works is just a small part of a larger endeavor to create a decentralized memorial to slavery in the United States. His new pieces will help to tell New York City's often overlooked history with slavery. Slavery Trails is not only AR interactive, but musically interactive as well. These two art forms are combined with deep historical research and produce a participatory memorial which centers the slavery narrative specifically on the enslaved peoples and their efforts at resistance.


Daily Mirror
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy remain in Wimbledon fever in lavish tennis getaway
Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy appeared to be bitten by the Wimbledon bug after taking in the action at SW19 before heading off to a Portuguese getaway and taking to the courts Peter Crouch and his wife Abbey Clancy clearly weren't over their tennis fever after taking in the action at SW19. The married couple were spotted the iconic grass courts this month to watch the Wimbledon finals. And it seems they have the bug for the sport as they picked up their rackets in a sunshine getaway. The duo were having a wail of a time on their Portuguese break as they took to the courts. The 6ft7 former Liverpool striker looked like he was intent on getting the better of his other half - and revelled in doing so. Wearing a loose-fitted cream t-shirt and shorts combo, the 44-year-old cheered his shots as he parried them back to his wife, 39. He shielded his eyes with a smart pair of sunglasses, with extra balls stuffed in his pocket for the game. Abbey didn't appear as into the sports session as her man and was seen resting with a drink in a takeaway coffee cup at the net. She opted for a fitted sportswear outfit of a black crop top and high-waisted leggings, which she tucked into white socks. She also donned a pair of designer shades for the outing on the blue sports courts. At one point she was seen with her grey sweater tied around her neck. Earlier in the month, the pair were seen cheering on their favourite tennis stars at SW19. They put on a very loved up display at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where they were joined by their eldest daughter, Sophia Ruby. The pair have three younger kids too, Liberty Rose, Johnny, and Jack. While the couple currently have four kids, Abbey recently revealed she would quite happily have a fifth. The couple, who tied the knot 14 years ago, have been entertaining fans for years with their hilarious honesty and true affection for each other on their The Therapy Crouch podcast. And last month, Abbey opened up to OK! about her secret hopes to add to their brood. Revealing the best thing about parenting at this stage, model and former Strictly champion Abbey said at the time: "We're not walking round with two prams and two nappy bags! I love them when they're babies but with my sister and brothers and their partners and kids, we've got a proper ready-made little gang now." However, when probed on if they could ever have baby number five, Abbey laughed: "I'd have 10 kids if I could, but Pete is like, 'absolutely not'. I think he said he'll leave me if I bring another living thing into the house. "All the kids are in school now, so I could easily have a newborn, but my husband says 'no way'." Abbey also took aim at the rumour mill surrounding her family. Finding it funny what speculation is shared from their podcast, she said: "Well, it's very inconsistent, isn't it? "One minute we're living separate lives and the next we're having a fifth baby! I don't read the stories though, I only learn about them when I get a call from a relative asking, 'Are you and Pete splitting up?' or 'Are you having another baby?'

Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Gianmarco Soresi Adds Edinburgh Fringe to Comedy Tour
US comedian Gianmarco Soresi will make his Edinburgh Fringe debut this August with a run of shows at Monkey Barrel as part of his new tour, 'Drama King'. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Known for his physical style and fast-paced routines, Soresi is set to perform from the 18th to 24th August, following a date at Glasgow's Glee Club the night before. The New York-based performer has built a significant online following, with over a million YouTube subscribers and a growing audience across TikTok and Instagram. He recently completed filming his first hour-long comedy special at the Elysian Theatre in Los Angeles, following an extensive international tour that included stops in Australia, Europe and the UK. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad His new show touches on a wide range of topics, including navigating adulthood, family dynamics, identity, and modern culture. Audiences can expect sharp material on everything from ADHD and AI to relationships and wrestling, delivered in his signature animated style. (c) ARIN SANG-URAI Soresi's work spans stand-up, acting and podcasting. He has appeared on television in shows like The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Real Housewives of New York, and Netflix's Bonding, as well as films including Hustlers and Here Today. He is also the co-host of the podcast The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi, which he has toured live across the US. In recent years, Soresi has been recognised as one of the rising voices in American comedy, with appearances at Just For Laughs and features in major comedy showcases. His Fringe debut marks the latest step in an already wide-reaching career, with the Drama King tour promising a mix of fresh material and the confessional comedy style he has become known for. Gianmarco Soresi's new stand-up show 'The Drama King' will be at the Monkey Barrel 3 at 3pm from 18th – 24th August for tickets go to