Blog Post

Jane Ford's new works for 'Dark Scottish nights'

Kate Downes • 8 November 2024

Although her works are beloved year-round, Jane Ford is known for her dark humour and penchant for the gothic. Welcoming the coming winter, Jane has created a new set of works exclusively for Watson, inspired by Scottish wildlife, history, and folklore. 

Each work has its own narrative, in which Jane highlights the details and themes of the piece. In 'Masters of Skullduggery,' Jane reimagines the infamous Burke and Hare as two hares surrounded by skulls and corpse lights as evidence of their misdeeds… 

“Oh, these two are really bad boys… William Hare and William Burke, show committed a series of murders in 1828. They sold the corpses to Dr. Robert Knox for dissection in his lectures in anatomy. To make things more nefarious, when captured Hare turned King’s evidence against Burke and Burke was hanged. His body was donated to the anatomy class; it can still be seen today. Hare disappeared. A fitting story for dark Scottish nights…”

This incredible large-scale stag piece ‘Councillor to the King’ draws on a tale often told about King Robert the Bruce...

 

“This is loosely based on the legend of Robert the Bruce and his encounter with a spider after the battle of Dalrigh. Hiding in a cave, the king was mesmerised by a cave spider unsuccessfully spinning a web. After many attempts, the spider finally spun a single thread upon which the tiny creature was able to complete its web. Robert learnt from the spider that to succeed he would have to try and try again… hence the spider became the king’s councillor. The painting is also a nod to the majesty of the Monarch of the Glen, the famous painting of a stag by Edward Lanseer."

Jane was excited to incorporate the marvellous Scottish Wildcat into her work ‘The Boys are Back in Town’...

 

“The true Scottish Wildcat is a critically endangered species. It has been declining rapidly over the last few decades but now captive-bred cats have been released in the Cairngorms. It is an icon of Scottish wilderness and is extremely ferocious. This depiction is based on that cat character, and in the depths and bowels of the cities, in the dark alleys of towns and haunted villages of Scotland, a comeback is awaited. Watch out all mice! The Scottish Wildcat has been a symbol for the Clan Chattan since the 13th century and is probably an inspiration for the mythical Catfish… this is one cat that will definitely be back.”

The final piece in the series ‘The Nightwatchman’s Apprentice,’ references the Edinburgh City Watch.

 

 "During dark Scottish nights, Nightwatchmen would walk the streets and sound the hour; they would congregate around burning braziers and watch over all who slept. In a very loose reference to the Blackwatch, a Raven is depicted as the Master of the Watch and a small mouse his bold apprentice, while Dormice sleep peacefully and safe."

See Jane Ford's full collection
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