Olivia Priya Foster (b.1998) graduated from painting and printmaking at the Glasgow School of Art in 2024. Foster's work ‘Black Sheep’ responds to her experience of growing up on a sheep farm in rural Argyll. Foster’s work is intrinsically autobiographical, discussing and understanding her experience of Queer rurality through a POC lens. Foster's work focuses on land and social implications, such as diaspora and displacement within Scotland. ‘Black Sheep’ intercepts natural materials and subverts them into new perspectives. This work was initiated by a performance displaying Foster shearing sheep on her family farm in Argyll. The material used in this installation is a documentation of performance. This piece questions labour and tradition within rural Scotland.
Foster’s practice heavily considers material and medium in reference to subject, regularly considering the impact of material on the environment. Her practice endeavours to explore her dual cultural identity and responds to the politics of land and resources. Foster was awarded the Chair Medal by the GSA School of Fine Art for outstanding work at her degree show. She was also a Visual Arts Scotland selected artist.
