My name is Ian Gray, and I have been an artist for over thirty years. I began my working life as a picture framer, which gave me a deep respect for craft, detail, and the way art is presented and preserved. From there, my curiosity and love of making pushed me to develop my own ways of working — moving through photography, painting, watercolours, experimental processes, sculpture, and mixed media. I have never limited myself to one form; my practice has always been about exploration.

This journey has taken me far beyond Scotland. My work and my life have carried me across Europe — Paris, Berlin, London — and further afield to Japan, Tokyo, Singapore, and across America, from New York and Washington to San Francisco. Wherever I have travelled, art has been the constant thread. I have always followed my own path, often working outside the traditional gallery system. While that independence may have come with challenges, it has also allowed me to remain self-directed, self-financed, and true to my instincts.

What I am doing now feels like the continuation — and the coming together — of everything I have worked towards. As Scotland heads to the Football World Cup in 2026, I want to be in America with the Tartan Army, documenting not only the journey of the team, but the people, the culture, and the spirit that travel with us. The Tartan Journey is both a personal reflection and a living document — a way of looking back over more than three decades of making, while also moving forward.

This project is about Scotland — its history, its creativity, its passion — and about what it means to carry that identity across borders. I want to document the landscapes, the people, the stories, and my own work, bringing them together into exhibitions that travel from Scotland, through Europe, and on to America. One of those destinations is Washington, D.C., where I exhibited twenty-five years ago, and another is Boston, where I hope to show the work as the Tartan Army arrives to support our boys in blue, flying the Saltire with pride.

I will not be travelling alone. Friends, fellow supporters, and kindred spirits will be part of this journey, and I will document them too — because this is not just my story, it is a shared one. It is about soul, spirit, memory, and belonging. It is about carrying everything I love about Scotland into the world, and inviting others to walk that journey with me.