Within an old school in Aberdeen is an extensive print studio, Peacock, my base for two weeks. I draw Galloway cows from home overlaid with an imagined Aurochs; mark making reminiscent of the Pleistocene cave paintings, human testimony illustrating this extinct bovine species. The theme, the Aberdeen Bestiary is relevant, Aurochs are recorded in bestiaries from medieval times, the last Aurochs dying in 1627. I expose the drawings onto a photo emulsion coated silk screen and experimenting with different colourways I print them as a herd onto a Perspex sheet. Three Aurochs appear, and we set of on a journey east to west across Scotland. By placing the Aurochs back within a land where they once roamed, I aim to reflect upon the suitability of this place for their survival. The resulting twenty-four-page publication, 'Gracious Beasts', is a curated collection of images and text generated through the mapping exercise with the Aurochs. The spreads are risoprinted on black paper, with colours chosen to highlight the artifice of the journey.
