The wonderful world of Ashley Cook

We know that many of you are already enjoying our new album, Acid Croft Vol 9. We have had a lot of admiring messages about the art work, so we thought you might like to know a bit more about the artist behind the cover image, Ashley Cook.

Ashley is an acclaimed printmaker who is a double-graduate from the Glasgow School of Art. Her work is found in collections all over the world, and in Scotland you can find it at Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, the Scotland Office, Creative Scotland, Arts in Fife and the Bank of Scotland among many other private locations.

The image chosen for the cover of the album is entitled The Gift of Abundance and was found by Quee when we were looking for visual inspiration to go with the music. The image itself resonated strongly with the band as it incorporates many echoes of former albums, not to mention a very ‘acid’ colour palette!

Here’s what Ashley says about this work:

“The Gift of Abundance was made early 2014.  Leading up to Indyref, Scotland seemed to have come alive with a newfound sense of identity. The immediate world around me seemed full of optimism with a landscape of possibilities opening up wide, the word on the lips of nearly all the artistic community was YES, it felt like a golden moment. 

“The Gift of Abundance is a nod to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, the Goddess of love borne in on the sea. Butterflies are a symbol of transformation, change could be difficult but may hold a future with more hope, the tartan stockings, and sporran; emblems of the souvenir shop identity of the Scots known the world over, the thistles, stag antlers and fish our flora and fauna. A small country, but rich in natural resources – Scotland has the gift of abundance. 

“I am really delighted to have this image on Acid Croft Volume 9, I’ve been playing my copy in the studio and the music can transport me back to living in that golden moment of early 2014 again.”

If you would like to buy any of the prints shown above please visit Ashley’s Etsy shop Ashley Cook’s work is featured in a new exhibition launching on 25 September at Scotland Art in Bath Street, Glasgow Highly recommended!