At the end of 2016 I made a work for the Barn in Banchory where I am resident and where the ‘soil laboratory’ is taking place. This is one of many ‘Dear Nature’ letters I have been writing over the last couple of years and continue to write. Each character of the letter is written into a soil bowl. The soils bowls were installed for a couple days as a wall based work. Then there were taken into a large scots pine forest and left as a permanent work. It is always exciting to think of people on occasion happening across this thought in the forest.
Read MoreBirches and Berries
In the autumn 2016 my work, Birches and Berries, came to end. This long and intense work sought to grow berries of all sorts between silver birch trees in a large hydroponic tent. It was good to visit the installation once a week and to be part of its maintenance as the trees and berry bushes grew. As with many of my works I was never sure if I would be able to harvest fruits from the installation. As it turned out I was, and it was exciting to be harvesting inside a gallery.
Read MoreSyson Gallery Last Islands Exhibition; 25 March–21 May, 2016
Wayne Burrows interview with John Newling on the the ‘Last Islands’ and ‘Human Nature Table’ works. (Full version).
Read MoreLive reading of 'The Lemon Tree and Me' by Danial Hyatt, New York
Danial read the entire book. This was a Transart Institute initiative taking place at the Powerhouse Arena bookstore in Dumbo, Brooklyn.
The Generosity Plates; Event at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara
This event was part of my contribution to their ‘Magic Mountain’ exhibition that ran for 1 year.
Recent Aquisition
After a recent successful show at Woodend Barn, Banchory, Aberdeenshire, we're please to announce that the following three works have been acquired for their collection.
Read MoreLast Islands Banchory - Essay
Located on the outskirts of Banchory in Aberdeenshire, Woodend Barn is an exceptional venture that looks properly at what art can be within a community. I was delighted to be invited to be an artist in residence there in 2014.
Read MoreThe Map Room of the Last Islands - 22 August – 23 September 2015
This major exhibition of previously unseen work is a powerful, and visually beautiful, illustration of the ways in which artist John Newling explores the relationships between the natural world and systems of value within society.
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