Born: Edinburgh, 1945

Alan Johnston's work is almost invisible. His wall drawings are made of short, irregular pencil marks, closely interwoven to form recognisable geometric shapes. These take their lead from the walls and spaces around them, heightening our awareness of the architecture rather than drawing attention to his work itself. Held within Johnston's geometric drawings is another shape, a negative or void space, visible only because of the pencil shading around its perimeter.

Johnston's voids operate at the edge of perception, making us see things that were previously unnoticeable. Detailing of surfaces and fixtures take on new significance. His work makes explicit the complex connections between mind and eye, sight being the sense that triggers the most widespread response in different areas of the brain and arguably is our primary faculty for comprehending the world.