‘Through an intense process of connecting, looking and drawing, my dialogue with trees asks not just what they look like, but also what looking at trees can tell us about ourselves.
Tansy Lee Moir
The grains of a tree can flow like a river, and it has limbs, a foot and a head, possibly breasts and buttocks too. It is an anatomical language we instantly recognise and, especially when the tree is old and gnarled, it is one we should venerate and listen to. Every bit of burr and missing bark tells a story, often one far beyond a human lifespan, and Tansy Lee Moir is one of the UK’s best chroniclers of these tales. For over twenty years, she has experimented with how different media, scale and the play of light can tell their stories, and the results record these conversations.
Tansy Lee Moir grew up in the Peak District in Derbyshire. She gained a BA(Hons) in 3D Design: Wood, Metal & Ceramics from Manchester Metropolitan University. After graduating she toured the UK for three years as a puppet maker and performer.She moved to Edinburgh in 1994 to pursue a career as a Community Artist, going on to study Community Education at Post Graduate level at Edinburgh University. For 25 years Tansy used creativity as a medium to support marginalised people, leading art and community development projects throughout Central Scotland. In 2008 she returned to drawing and established her current practice, making work exploring our relationship with old trees. Now based in South Queensferry, Tansy works full-time as an artist and educator, exhibiting and teaching across the UK.
Since 2011 Tansy has had seven solo exhibitions and shown in and curated numerous group shows. Her work is in private collections around the UK, Europe and the USA. Tansy has developed close connections with organisations and professionals who share her passion for our ancient tree heritage, In 2015 she was commissioned by South Yorkshire Biodiversity Research Group to work on ‘Tree Stories’, examining tree carving and graffiti. She contributes to tree recording for the Ancient Tree Inventory. In January 2023 she was awarded a commission residency by the late Hugo Burge, to make a triptych of ‘Ghosts’ charcoal drawings based on the trees he loved, for the Marchmont House collection. Tansy is a member of the Society of Scottish Artists, Visual Arts Scotland and The Art and Nature Collective.