My first and only face to face encounter with Roger Ackling (1947 – 2014) was in 2010 when he showed up as the external examiner for the degree work. Acking’s unassuming demeanour was evident and likewise in his work I found inspirational. I found somehting deeply spiritual and sublime in Ackling’s work where his attention to the sun and the found object are treated with equal respect and sensitivity. He takes on this process in his life’s work. It is not a mere signature that he cultivates but an explorative and meditative journey that rejoices in a process that links and corresponds and the artist becomes the inbetween entity in this conversation between drawing source and surface.

Thorunn and I exhibited together in Edinburgh in 2009 at Gladstone Gallery with a show entitled Surtr N Ogygia. At that time, my practice was starting to shift from 2D-3D and I was about to distance myself from painting. However, my foundation in art through the language of paint has influenced my responses to the world around me. At that time both of us were looking at Islands - Thorunn has taken the icelandic island of Surtsey as her focus of study, while I was looking at rock formation around Gozo. Thorunn had an expressive, deliberate and sure mark which I was drawn to. We decided to exhchange a work each and this particular painting stood out because of the range of mark as well as economic execution. For me it stands on its own but it also reminds me of all the engergy of work coming togehter in that exhibition, when mark making was still very important to me.

Before his death in the summer of 2011, the artist Robert Callender and his wife Elizabeth Ogilvie discussed a retrospective of his work, in the form of a publication: A2B. Robert conceived of this not as a book, but more a selection of small pieces collected in a 'rummage-box' or treasure trove. Elizabeth began fundraising for the project in the autumn of 2011, with private subscribers immediately responding to the idea of A2B. The generosity of these first subscribers enabled early research, development and production of a mock-up of the publication: a box containing several individual publications and pull-out items. In 2013 the project was recognised with a significant award by Creative Scotland. This work was launced in June 2015. In 2012 I was the first recipient of the Robert Callender International Residency for Emerging Artists. Since then I worked closely with Elizabeth Ogilvie and Lateral Lab.

Currently working between Greece and the UK, David Cass is an artist and occasional curator. He has exhibited his multi-media artwork in a range of venues and festivals since graduating in 2010: including group showings at Christie’s, The Royal Academy, Royal Scottish Academy, Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, MAXXI Museum, Cop21, 26, & 27; and solo presentations at The Scottish Gallery, British Institute of Florence and Venice Biennale.  David and I have shared a studio at Edinburgh College of Art and curated our graduation space in 2010. Since then our friendship fuelled conversations, collaborations, and mutual support that have definitely influenced my work and enriched my outlook on art. David’s work ethic and sensibility towards the found object and conscientous approach toward contemporary art and the environemnt are inspirational and Collection Simon Paul prides itself to include these works by David.    

The art of Ian Hamilton Finlay is unusual for encompassing a variety of different media and discourses. Poetry, philosophy, history, gardening and landscape design are among the genres of expression through which his work moves, and his activities have assumed concrete form in cards, books, prints, inscribed stone or wood sculptures, room installations and fully realised garden environments.  


These works of Ian Hamilton Finlay are treasured by the collection as they were a gift from Elizabeth Ogilive and Robert Callender to the artist for work, connection, and friendship.

Since the very start of his artistic career, Norio Imai has challenged the dogma of artistic convention. He creates bulbous reliefs that exist somewhere in-between object and painting. By placing material underneath the surface of his works, Imai creates monumental monochrome white paintings out of almost nothing. He considers white to be the ultimate colour, a non-colour that combines all colours in perfect harmony. Imai often repaints his work with an additional layer of paint to preserve the depth and purity of the whiteness. To him, white is a landscape made up of nothingness and emptiness.
  
This work is important for the collection. It has a humble origin - in the sense it is simply an exhibition advert postcard that was signed by the artist by chance. I was doing an artist residency in Japan (2012) and I went to see this exibition. In a particular event organised by Yoshihito Kawabata, an artist whose work I deeply admire, Norio Imai turned up and I could not believe the coincidence after seeing his exhibition that was instrumental for me. Instrumental in the sense where I could see a line of work informing its own aesthetics. In this sense it was an important acquisition for Collection Simon Paul. At that time that I acquired this work I did not know that there would be a collection, but it was enlighting persence for me to ponder on about both my own work and the work that inspires me.