University of Cumbria academic’s ‘Scotland the Brave’

University of Cumbria associate lecturer, Martin Fowler, will launch his new history of Scotland book later this month.
Martin FowlerMartin Fowler
Martin Fowler

In ‘Scotland the Brave: A Graphic History of Scotland 1514-2014’, Martin presents a visual guide to some of the key events in Scotland’s history through a series of personal, political and satirical drawings.

From a visual exploration of the battles of Flodden Field and Culloden Moor, to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and the Independence Referendum, his drawings question the role such events play within the Scottish psyche. However, the drawings also place a timely focus upon figures such as Willie MacRae and John MacLean, as examples of those who challenge the accepted mainstream narratives of Scotland’s ruling establishment.

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Martin said: “The book presents a history of Scotland in visual form.

“The ink drawings present an accessible and dynamic aide memoire for those interested in Scottish history, whilst serving as a timely comment upon ideas of nationhood and identity in both pre and post referendum Scotland.”

In June this year Martin was invited to the Scottish Parliament to showcase his drawings prior to the Independence Referendum.

Born in Portobello, Edinburgh, in 1972, Martin completed his first degree in Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art in 1994. He moved to Barcelona to study for a Masters in European Fine Art at the Winchester School of Art.

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From 2000 onwards, Martin worked as a lecturer within the Scottish Prison Service. He spent two years as artist-in-residence at Perth prison, where he recorded his experience of working with life-sentence prisoners in a series of drawings and paintings. This resulted in the publication, ‘The Tension of a Line: A Portrait of Perth Prison’.

Martin left the prison service in 2006 to take up his teaching post at the University of Cumbria.