Fleece and Flow: Andy Goldsworthy's Rural Wool Runner
The grand neoclassical staircase of Edinburgh's Royal Scottish Academy has been transformed into something entirely unexpected. Where visitors might expect polished marble steps, they now encounter a runner made entirely from discarded sheep fleeces – the scraps thrown away after shearing, each piece marked with the vivid blues and reds that farmers use to identify their flocks. Artist Andy Goldsworthy has painstakingly stitched these fragments together using thorns, creating a tactile pathway that bridges the refined world of fine art with the raw, working landscape of rural Scotland.
Wool fleeces in preparation for assembly. Image courtesy of the artist.
This striking installation forms part of "Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years," the largest indoor exhibition ever mounted of the internationally acclaimed artist's work, running at the Royal Scottish Academy until 2 November. The fleece runner exemplifies Goldsworthy's profound understanding of materials – not just their aesthetic qualities, but their histories, their journeys from field to gallery...
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Image Credits:
Lead: Wool Runner, 2025. Andy Goldsworthy. Photo courtesy of the artist.
All other images as credited in photo captions.