Mel Roy

My work explores the less acknowledged aspects of our nature. I'm interested in the horror within, and the sides of ourselves we often choose to hide, or pretend don't exist. I am also interested in belief systems, and how the power of belief can motivate us do extraordinary things. The treatment of women within such systems is a recurring point of interest.

My current work is about the Anabaptist Siege of Munster in the 16th Century.

The Anabaptists (a persecuted Lutheran sect) took over the city of Munster in 1534, under the leadership of 2 prophets, Jan Matthias and Jan Van Leiden, with the aid of local town figures. These prophets expelled and murdered Lutherans, Catholics and dissenters. They predicted the end of world, claimed to communicate with God and introduced edicts under the guise of divine instruction to their faithful. These included iconoclasm, a strict rule of law, forced marriage and polygamy.

Under a year long siege by the Catholic ruler the townspeople began to starve, and finally Munster fell. The remaining prophet and leaders were then tortured to death by the Prince Bishop in Munster town square. Whilst many of the behaviours in this story are of the past, there are numerous parallels with the ...

Glasgow School of Art - Architecture 1996 - 1999
Leith School of Art - Figurative Course 2015
Figurative Prize Winner 2015

SSA Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Dec 2018 - Jan 2019

Esbat Collective, Signals, EDS Gallery, Edinburgh, November 2018

Esbat Collective, Dream Recall, The Life Room, Edinburgh, August 2018

OPEN 2018, SSA and VAS together, Royal Scottish Academy, January - March 2018

Esbat Collective, Touch, Patriothall Gallery, October - November 2017

RSA Open Exhibition, RSA Lower Galleries, Edinburgh, July - October 2017

Esbat Collective, The Switch, Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, March 2017

Esbat Collective, The Moonshine War, Otherworld Books, Edinburgh, August 2016

Esbat Collective, City Primeval, Coburg House, Edinburgh, June 2016

The Image Collective, The Space, Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh, April - June 2016

Naked Aye, Creep Me Oot, St Margaret's House, Edinburgh, April 2016

Beyond the Figure, Group Show, Dundas Street Gallery, December 2015