Mermaids’ Tears is the first exhibition in Scotland to chart the artist Kurt Jackson’s campaigning work to address the blight of plastics in the ocean.

To coincide with the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh presents a new exhibition highlighting the damaging impact of plastic on our beaches and in the marine environment. Featuring over 20 remarkable paintings, this important exhibition draws attention to the need to prevent resin pellets or nurdles from plastic manufacturing (colloquially known as mermaids’ tears) from polluting the environment. At the centre of the exhibition is a new textile commission made by Dovecot in collaboration with Jackson, which features plastic collected by the artist from beaches near his home.

Jackson (b.1961) is one of Britain’s most celebrated landscape painters whose collaborations with environmental charities and pressure groups Surfers Against Sewage, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Wildlife Trusts, have provided a key platform for environmental issues over the past three decades.

Dovecot is a world-renowned tapestry studio in the heart of Edinburgh and a landmark centre for contemporary art, craft, and design. Established in 1912, Dovecot continues a century-long heritage of collaboration with international artists to make exceptional and engaging works of art.

Images credit © Dovecot Studios, 2021

Alternative text for image: Painted beach scene