Earthly Spirits
Pinkie Maclure
31.01.2026 – 04.05.2026

Pinkie Maclure’s Earthly Spirits explores the space between the sacred and the earthly, the spiritual and the natural. Inspired by a visit to the Church of the Holy Ghost in Crowcombe, Somerset, Maclure was struck by the presence of pagan imagery within a Christian setting—particularly the Green Man, a symbol of nature’s omnipotence. This interplay of belief systems raises fundamental questions: What is sacred? Is the Earth itself sacred?

Through stained glass, sound, and film, Earthly Spirits creates an immersive space for contemplation. Here, Pinkie recalls a poignant memory of a young boy learning to play the piano in the church—his music accompanied by the circling flight of a swallow—adding a deeply personal yet otherworldly element to the exhibition’s themes of reverence, loss, and transformation.

At the heart of Earthly Spirits is The Soil, a striking 3-metre x 2.7-metre stained-glass installation that Pinkie made single-handedly over 10 weeks. The fragmented recycled glass evokes the remnants of a ruined church, yet its imagery speaks to contemporary ecological concerns—soil degradation and intensive farming. The U.K. is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with three-quarters of its land experiencing significant ecosystem degradation.

An eight-speaker ambisonic sound installation fills the space. Distant echoes of piano chords intertwine with Pinkie's singing and the soft, ghostly song of a swallow.  Meanwhile, a flickering film projection casts shifting reflections of trees through stained glass, dappling the walls and floor with ephemeral colour and shadow.

The exhibition will continue with new and existing stained glassworks, some suspended in front of the gallery windows, emphasising the themes of landscape, memory, transformation, and an alternative future. During the exhibition, Maclure will incorporate live performances (dates to be confirmed soon).

Earthly Spirits is a meditation on what we hold sacred, whether rooted in belief, memory, or the fragile beauty of the natural world. In a time of ecological uncertainty, it invites us to pause, listen, and reflect on our evolving relationship with the land and its hidden spirits.

Pinkie Maclure (b. 1961) is a Scottish stained-glass artist and musician based on the west coast of Scotland. Early in her career, she was a critically acclaimed but financially struggling musician. To earn a living, she began assisting a friend with stained glass and slowly developed her distinctive style, using many techniques, including sandblasting, painting and engraving. Frustrated by stained glass’ traditional conventions and narratives, she reimagined the medium with contemporary, secular themes to create darkly humorous works that explore modern issues. Drawing from folklore, environmentalism, and personal experiences, her work is held in major collections, including the UK Stained Glass Museum and the National Museum of Scotland. In 2023, she had her first solo institutional exhibition, Lost Congregation, at CCA Glasgow.

Header image courtesy of the artist