This catalogue essay is to accompany Sam Ainsley's first solo exhibition in thirty years, at An Tobar Art Centre, Isle of Mull. The essay focuses on three new works that Ainsley has made for the exhibition, appraising the on-going themes of her work, namely the metaphor; and the relationship of the body to landscape and architecture. The translation of 'An Tobar' is the well. I contextualise her work through drawing upon the well of words of women writers that she consistently revisits as inspiration for her work. Furthermore, from an early interview I made with Ainsley, she re-called the impact science fiction written by women had on her. I investigate this in the essay, drawing connection between how Ainsley often in the displaying of her work in grid form or series, juxtaposes different 'worlds' together - a science fiction device. Ainsley refers back in her work to 'The Map of Tendre', a 17th century allegorical cartography linking geography to the body and emotions. Using this device, I created small text 'islands' throughout the body of the essay, based on some of the map's locations. Given the site-specific island location of Ainsley's exhibition her third work, a wall painting of imaginary and real islands, the essay also brings in references to the ways in which other Scottish islands have been either realistically or fictionally represented. Examples include St Kilda (Powell and Pressburger) and Shetland (Jenny Gilbertson)
