Naomi Mcintosh’s work in Dear Earth at Kirkcaldy Galleries | Photography © Lydia Smith
Naomi Mcintosh
This new work by Naomi Mcintosh takes the form of delicate, lightweight suspended sculptures crafted from steam-bent wood. Each branch is a physical representation of bird song, 70 bird species in total, all of which are endangered or in decline.
The shape of each branch is translated from oscillograms, which visualise the sound of each birdsong. The scale of each suspended ‘song’ corresponds to the wingspan of the bird it represents. As a whole, the installation becomes a physical representation of listening, of paying attention to fleeting sounds which soon disappear, just like the birds that made them.
Biography
Naomi Mcintosh studied Architecture at The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, and worked in architectural practice before gaining an MA in Design at Central Saint Martins. In 2013 Mcintosh moved to the Cairngorms, Scotland, drawing upon her background in architecture and jewellery design to explore the emotional and sensory experience of nature through material and form. Working primarily with sustainably sourced timber, volumes without boundaries are captured, motion is suggested, and two-dimensional surfaces are transformed into sculptural three-dimensional forms that possess life and resonance.
Mcintosh’s work is held in multiple private and public collections, including Historic Environment Scotland, Aberdeen Art Gallery, and The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Selected exhibitions include Ash Rise, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (2024); Deep Rooted, City Art Centre, Edinburgh (2023); every somewhere, Make Hauser & Wirth, Bruton (2023); and the London Design Biennale, Somerset House, London (2021).