Louise Pearson
Details
Name
Louise Pearson
About
Louise Pearson is an artist and musician from the Highlands of Scotland, currently completing an MFA in Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. Pearson’s practice sits at the intersection of art, political ecology and community development.
The Highlands remain a region of contested land relations, from the legacy of the Clearances to ongoing decision-making that prioritises national and commercial interests, often sidelining dùthchas, the Gaelic understanding of reciprocal belonging between people and land. Her work explores how this is felt and threatened, particularly as the cost of staying becomes increasingly out of reach. Working through embodied, site-based methods – walking, sound, image and text – Pearson seeks to engage directly with place.
Her recent work investigates what is at risk as successive waves of energy development transform Highland landscapes. As large-scale infrastructure moves through planning systems, the cultural knowledge and relationships to land that sustain community identity and belonging are often given little recognition. Objects such as survival blankets become metaphors for this fragility, and for the right to warmth in a region that produces extraordinary amounts of energy, yet where many rural households still experience fuel poverty and face higher standing charges than those in London.
Alongside her practice, she works in sustainable development with Wester Ross UNESCO Biosphere, contributing to projects focused on culture, environment and place-based engagement. This parallel work informs her connection with land, power and rural inequality.
Region
Highland
Website
http://www.louisepearson.co.uk