Katy Dove

Between 7 January and 25 February there was a memorial exhibition at the Inverness Museum of drawings, collages, paintings, prints and animations by the much-loved artist Katy Dove (1970 – 2015). Katy grew up on the Black Isle, and created meditative spaces through her combinations of sound and image, and contemplative responses to colour and rhythm. She found children to be especially receptive to her work. So I took my two children (10 and 12) along, so we could share our impressions.

We were all struck by the animations in the first alcove, playing on a screen. The rhythmic music combined with abstract moving coloured shapes to create a slightly disembodied meditative sense, light rather than dark.

Her small 2-D paint and collage pieces around the gallery space were similar - simple and colourful, with an underlying sense of innocence and joy. In the back room of the gallery were large textile pieces, art quilts, again with the same childlike quality. These were not particularly well lit, but visible. I felt that the animations were the strongest pieces, and that the combination of moving forms and music was effective. 

Overall, we found the show calming and positive. I missed an 'edge' in this exhibition. However, it was relaxing to experience, and there was a real poignancy in the fact that such an obviously sunny and positive person with a sense for sharing the pleasure of art, particularly with children, had such an early and tragic death.