Julia McGhee
I am an artist who lives and works in Inver, near Tain in the Highlands. I am interested in working with movement, the body, objects and materials that can reflect elements of the environment and people I see around me. My interdisciplinary practice incorporates improvisation and dance, photography and filmmaking and I regularly collaborate with artists who work across music, film, digital media and visual art to create live indoor and outdoor performance, digital and multi-media projects and community engagement events. My practice involves walking and wild swimming, gathering video and audio material, as well as found objects, stories and history from people locally. I also want to involve audiences in the research and development of my work: creating opportunities for people to experience work in progress and encourage feedback and discussion is key to my artistic process.
Through my current performance project, 'Goldy-looking blanket', I'm investigating a performance alter-ego as a way to shift between landscape, creature and other without appearing in human form. For me, Goldy is a cocoon, a safe space to explore metamorphosis and change, whilst remaining hidden and protected (https://juliamcghee.co.uk/goldy-looking-blanket).
Between 2020 and 2025, I collaborated with TWR members Penny Chivas, Saffy Setohy, Nicolette Macleod and Laura Bradshaw to create 'The Morrich' - a live contemporary performance that reflects on the experience of living in a place that is both a protected landscape due to the importance of the natural environment and is used as a training ground by the Ministry of Defence. 'The Morrich' has been performed at Mull Theatre, CatStrand Arts Centre, Macrobert Arts Centre and Cromarty Arts Trust.
www.juliamcghee.co.uk
