Visual Artist Helen Gallogly, known for her costume textile design work on the Outlander drama series, presents a site-specific visual art project: Reading Forms. Scotland's first free public lending Library, Innerpeffray Library in Perthshire, is the location for this Creative Scotland-funded exhibition.
Set for May, the exhibition will display printed textile sculptures, positioned throughout the Library location, presenting new visual narratives investigating the site and the content of its rare and antiquated books.
Jackie Stewart, Creative Industries Officer at Creative Scotland says: “Libraries are more than repositories of books; they are living spaces of shared knowledge, creativity, and community. ‘Reading Forms’ at Innerpeffray Library beautifully illustrates how history, art, and storytelling can converge to spark new perspectives on the relevance of libraries today. At a time when these vital spaces face uncertainty, this project reaffirms their role as evolving cultural hubs that connect and inspire.”
Gallogly’s upbringing around an antiques shop, developed a lifelong interest in objects, materials and places with a history, her work with surface pattern has evolved from her costume work, to explore soft sculpture and mixed media works. The project began with a VACMA research award (Fife Contemporary/Creative Scotland), following a development period, Gallogly was awarded a grant from Creative Scotland in November 2024, to bring the work to a completed exhibition.
Helen Gallogly, artist says: “With Libraries disappearing from our national landscape, and a digital world growing, I have felt an urgency to connect creatively with this site, where the free and open sharing of information began in Scotland. Here we can slow down and reconnect with others over tactile sources”
Reading Forms runs from 2 to 31 May 2025 and is open to the public within the Library's opening hours.
For more information about the project, including venue information and directions visit:
www.helengallogly.com/projects
Additional exhibition information
The objects used to study rare books; ‘Reading sofas and weighted snakes’, become vessels through which Helen Gallogly examines Innerpeffray Library. A series of printed textile sculptures will display new configurations of these functional archival tools. Narratives printed across the forms will discuss ideas of perspective, place and relevance. The archaic teachings within antiquated texts collide with enlightened thinking. Forgotten creatures spill from the pages, forming new printed imagery vying for our attention, to remain relevant and to be seen.
An International sharing of this work will be delivered by Gallogly through a virtual Artist Talk in April, to the students of LIM College of Fashion and Business in New York, discussing the project and her artistic process. The virtual talk will be delivered in the Library of LIM College.
Background
Header image is courtesy of Helen Gallogly.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery, which, now in its 30th year, has supported over 14,600 projects with more than £501.9 million in funding through Creative Scotland and its predecessor, the Scottish Arts Council. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot.