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CHANGING DUNDEE – Maya Abeysuriya and Marianne Wilson

12 January - 31 March, 2019

‘Changing Dundee’ is an exhibition of work by Dundee based artist-printmakers, Maya Abeysuriya and Marianne Wilson.

Maya Abeysuriya is a self-taught artist-printmaker whose extensive research uncovers the connections between South Asian doctors and Dundee’s jute industry. Her interest is sparked by the knowledge that her Sri Lankan grandfather spent time caring for workers in Scottish linen and jute factories during the 1920s. It is highly possible that Dr Arukatti Patahendige Frederick Abeysuriya visited Dundee in his time as a student and witnessed the disease and difficulty experienced by workers in the jute industry. His pioneering spirit paved the way for many of Maya’s family who also became doctors in the UK. Using the medium of screen printing Maya has layered images and text onto jute fibre paper to highlight, edit and explain this information. In her work we celebrate the migrants who give us such amazing stories.

Marianne Wilson artist-printmaker attended DJCAD, graduating in 2000. Her inspiration is the surrounding landscape, the history and changing geography of an area. Using notions of melancholia and nostalgia she tries to visualise a lost place or period in time. For this exhibition she has built up a personal vision of the area that surrounds the Verdant Works. From its use as a Pleasance during the Scottish Renaissance and plant nurseries in later times, to the industrialisation of linen and jute manufacture, this part of town has had many uses over the centuries. Referencing historical material and her own photographs and drawings Marianne has created dreamlike montages using printmaking and collage.

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