And in their wake happiness – Morag Smith

A colourful and fun exhibition inspired by sailing journeys in the landscape of the North West Highlands and Islands.

‘And in their wake happiness’ (from the poem Dolphins by Andrew Greig in Found at Sea, 2013) – is an exhibition inspired by sailing journeys in the landscape of the North West Highlands and Islands where Morag and her siblings ran free and wild, exploring the land and the sea. The pieces in this exhibition evolved from an initial study of thistles, focusing on the contrasting softness of the flower heads and jaggedness of the plant.

Colour and a sense of fun is hugely important in Morag’s work with the palette in this exhibition taken from the purples and pinks of thistles, the blues of the sea and the incidental vibrant colours of the landscape found at our feet. The shapes and colours reflect a seamless journey between sea and organic plant life., while reflections created by the addition of window vinyls add an additional layer of subtle movement, surface and flow.

Morag is a contemporary artist working from the Wasps Links Studios in Nairn. She works in sculpture, installation and digital media. Key decisions in her work focus on shape and colour which are combined with industrial materials such as perspex, concrete, nuts and bolts. These materials attract through their sensual textures and visual stimuli. Working within a limited range of materials reflects a personal minimalist approach.

Coming to an understanding of why some landscapes are more interesting to her than others, a sense of the familiar is important to Morag, achieved through repeated journeys by sea or on foot, or from a quickening of the heart that she feels when in places such as the high sandstone cliffs of Caithness. And in considering her own recollections of this landscape, the historical evocations held within it create another layer of memory. All these layers inform her understanding of her roots, her connections and her personal sense of belonging.

Morag graduated from Moray School of Art UHI in 2018 with a Fine Art (Hons) degree. In 2019 Morag was one of three artists commissioned by Moray’s Great Place to respond to historical characters. She exhibited in 2020 with An Tallas Solais as part of a Highland Graduate show, entitled ‘Landscape of Place’. This ultimately moved to an online exhibition and was one of three online shows previewed in the Scotsman’s Magazine by Susan Mansfield. In 2022 she was part of Circus Artspace Graduate Programme concluding with a group show titled ‘Cianalas’. In 2022 she exhibited with VAS North at the Inverness Creative Academy and in 2023 with VAS West at The Briggait in Glasgow. In 2024 Morag was one of three artists commissioned by the Grampian Hospital Art Trust to exhibit in the Suttie Arts Space, titled ‘Bilberry Lane’. In June 2025 she was invited by The Cabrach Trust to exhibit as part of a group show entitled ‘Inspired by’.

Morag Smith is a contemporary artist living in Nairn exploring ideas around Landscape, People and Places. She works mainly in a sculptural format. Morag studied Fine Art (Hons) at Moray School of Art UHI graduating in 2018. In 2016 she was one of a cohort of third year students selected to exhibit at the Nairn Book and Arts Festival ‘New Highland Contemporary 3’. Her work was awarded the inaugural Highland Fine Arts & Decorative Society Prize. In 2018 her degree show was shortlisted for the Visual Arts Scotland’s Graduate Showcase. She was one of three artists commissioned by Discover Moray’s Great Places to respond to historical characters (2020), was part of an online group exhibition entitled ‘Landscape of Place’ with An Tallas Solais (2020), exhibited in a group show as part of Circus Artspace Graduate Programme (2022), with Visual Art Scotland North in Inverness (2022) and Visual Art Scotland West in Glasgow (2023). Morag was commissioned as one of three artists to create work for an exhibition at the Suttie Art Space, GHAT in Aberdeen (2024). She was also the recipient of grants from Creative Scotland (2023), tsiMoray (2022) the Visual Arts and Crafts Makers Award (2021) and Adriana Sjim Bigman Art Grant (2020). From 2023 – 2025 she was involved in a major project delivering creative workshops to women across the Highlands and Moray. The aim of this project was to deliver a programme of activities at diverse locations, including deprived and remote/rural locations, using creativity to promote women’s confidence and wellbeing.

With special thanks to The Sign Centre, Inverness for their excellent support, knowledge, expertise and sense of humour. A fantastic service was received – I will be back.