Tamsin Ghislaine Cunningham is an architect, artist and writer.
Exploring the subtle factors that constitute the character and spirit of a place, and with a deep respect for the elements that shape them, Tamsin’s work focuses on fostering community, belonging and connection. Drawn to exploration from an early age, her fascination with the relationship between landscape, the natural world and sensory experience has shaped her belief that heightened awareness holds the key to understanding the patterns, processes and beliefs that shape our lives. She explores these themes through art, writing, architecture and multi-disciplinary collaborations.
Tamsin is a Creative Director of Tayos, co-founder of Open Close; a collaborative art and design collective and an Associate at award-winning architecture studio WT Architecture. She lives on the west coast of Scotland amongst the natural landscapes that inspire and inform her work.
ART
Tamsin’s drawings are an exercise in purposefully stepping outside of a planned creative process. Always spontaneous, the drawings are constructed line by line, shape by shape; following the pen with no set end point in mind.
Drawing offers Tamsin an opportunity to explore her preoccupations with the compositions, spaces and structures underpinning landscapes and relationships. Following a fine line becomes an act of meditation; creating space to think, dream and resolve.
WRITING
Tamsin’s writing is inspired by the observations and explorations of her home landscape on the west coast of Scotland and the landscapes she has travelled. She is also a principle contributor of writing and artwork to The Liminal Compass: an online curated journey through art, music, essays, poetry, photography and sound inspired by Ecuador’s Tayos Caves.
COLLABORATIONS
Whether working on art installations, architecture or multi-disciplinary projects, collaboration is an important part of Tamsin’s work. Through her involvement as co-founder of collaborative art and design collective Open Close, her co-creative director role for Tayos or her work in fostering community and connection to place through projects at WT Architecture, Tamsin explores the rich cross-pollination of ideas that comes through teamwork.
Images: Tops and below left; Queensferry Crossing Opening Celebration installation with Tommy Perman, below centre; White House, Coll for WT Architecture, below right; Open Close installation with Eileen Hall at Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh for Sustrans
