Turtle Dove BECS BOYD
COVER IMAGE
detail fromTurtle Dove | oil on board | 60cm x 60cm
Water’s Edge with Turtle Dove | 90cm x 120cm
Migrant Story ii | 60cm x 60cm
The White Bird | 60cm x 60cm
Becs Boyd
Turtle Dove
5 June - 4 July 2026
This collection of ten works by Becs Boyd are inspired by a long distance walk in Romania and Moldova during 2025, and the frescos, wildlife and people encountered enroute. During this journey the globally-endangered turtle dove became a totem, a reminder of ancient cultural roots and a contemporary symbol of struggle and resilience.
Boyd’s work has always used icon-like symbols - a bird or seal, a shell, a face – with previous bodies of work inspired by the Highlands and the Arctic north. With Turtle Dove, Boyd weaves the timeless stories of human and bird together, exploring the persistence of life in the face of challenge and the dreamlike song of the turtle dove.
“The gentle purring call of the turtle dove wove through the weeks I walked close to the Ukrainian border. It wove through the deep colours of Orthodox monastery frescoes and through conversations about war, farming and elections. This body of work marks the recent discovery of an ancient migration route. Turtle doves cross the Ukrainian front line and the Gaza Strip, before reaching the Sahel, one of the most climate-ravaged regions of the world. Drawing on the imagery of 16th Century Orthodox frescoes, this work celebrates the fragile persistence of this bird against a backdrop of violent change.”
Becs Boyd, 2025
+44 (0) 1463 783 230
art@kilmorackgallery.co.uk
Kilmorack Gallery, Inverness-shire IV4 7AL SCOTLAND
Turtle Dove Icon | oil on board | 80cm x 100cm