20th November – 4th December 2026
“Tactility in art is under threat”
Carved, is an exhibition of print and photography work created over the past few years by Connor McLennaghan. Each piece has a different slant, but when brought together, this body of work explores themes of queerness, transness and Scottishness, with the intention of bringing viewers into these themes, allowing them to become points of relation rather than division.
Through making physical prints, Connor hopes this work will exist for many years as tangible evidence of not only his existence, but as proof that trans people have always been here. Every lino or woodcut in this exhibition was made completely by hand through hours of carving, which is not only a personal choice but a political stance too, as tactility in art is under threat, and technology such as AI begins to destabilise income opportunities for artists. Using his body to create is something AI cannot do, using his own personal narrative to create work from is something AI cannot do, having real conversations and human understanding is something AI cannot do.
The majority of the work in this exhibition is in black and white, which is not only visually striking; it also encourages the conversations to come to the forefront of the piece and not get lost behind complex colours. Connor hopes his work helps to bring light to different aspects of being trans and Scottish in the current climate, but also encourages viewers to consider their own narratives.
Read our interview with Connor over on our blog.
“the act of carving something by hand is not a labour of love; it’s an outlet for frustration”
Connor McLennaghan is an artist from Glasgow who works mainly with linocut and woodcut printmaking, but also with film photography. While studying, he discovered lino printing and spent countless hours locked away carving (while also listening to some questionable song choices). For Connor, the act of carving something by hand is not a labour of love; it’s an outlet for frustration and confusion, and by getting lost in the carving, he then is able to reconfigure his thoughts and create something physical. His work explores the things that feel most important to him in the moment, working mainly from his own lived experience as a trans person in the world right now, but also often extends that to look outward at others’ experiences. He is interested in the act of physically creating something with his hands, rather than running something through a computer or AI system, and believes that by making with his hands, there is concrete, tangible evidence of his existence.
Carved runs at Six Foot Gallery from 20th November – 4 December 2026. Connect with Connor over on Instagram.