She has recently been included in: Descent into the Maelstrom, Southside Studios, Glasgow; Pentagon Gallery, Glasgow; RSA New Contemporaries 2010, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh; Material Reflections, Vic Gallery, Glasgow; Beers Barnes Circus : The Big Show, GSA, Glasgow; Another Place, GSA, Glasgow & Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing; Art Goes Pop, White Space, GSA, Glasgow; It’s All A Bit Too Casual, GSA, Glasgow; Re:do, Domane Marienburg, Hildesheim, Germany; Interim, LCAD, Leeds; SEAsalt, Saltmarket, Glasgow; Hotel Bloom!, Brussells.
McKinlay makes sculpture that draws upon the strange and surreal structural qualities of natural organisms, becoming half living, half architectural lands and creatures. She has developed a process based practice in which objects evolve from experimenting with materials and processes, from taking photos, making models and drawing. Her work combines industrial materials such as gloss paint, rubber and PVC, with more natural materials such as cement and wood to create tensions between the fabricated quality of the work, and its starting point in the natural world. She has become interested in how synthetic colours can transform natural forms and interact with light and space. Her sculptures investigate scale, and the boundaries of the gallery space, some pieces require the viewer to look up in order to see the whole work, others are floor based and draw attention to the ground, with the intention of creating a physical relationship with the viewer.
Flamingo - Timber,steel, MDF, spray paint - 2009
