One of the requirements on becoming a Royal Scottish Academician is have a ‘Diploma Work’ accepted by Assembly and added to the RSA Collections:
‘This is a unique collection of Scottish art that ranges from c.1780 to the present day. This is complemented by an extensive archive of correspondence, papers, drawings, photographs and studio artifacts. The accumulated material reflects both the life and work of the academy as an institution and its individual members, as well as providing a broad view of Scottish Art since the late 18th Century’
The collection is held in the Granton Arts Centre in North West Edinburgh which also holds the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Museum of Scotland. I made ‘The Academician’s Complex’ in way of celebrating my election as a Academician, and I always had it in the back of my mind it would be my diploma work. I visited Granton to see my work in storage and also good a glimpse of this unique archive, under the supervision of Sandy Work, keeper of the collection.