ALARMIST newspaper front pages about refugees arriving in the UK on small boats have been turned into artwork for a new exhibition.

Artist Scott Baxter’s work is part of a free show with the theme of resilience and hope which opened in Edinburgh on Friday and runs until March 16 next year.

The exhibition at Edinburgh Printmakers is aimed at offering visual inspiration to the public.

Across both galleries at the venue, hope is portrayed through different printmaking processes, including screenprint, lithography, etching, relief and textile, as well as three-dimensional works incorporating printmaking.

For Baxter’s Flotilla, each paper boat of the installation is constructed from a sheet of screen-printed newsprint. Printed on each of the newsprint pages are monochrome versions of real front pages from tabloid newspapers covering the arrival of refugees on small boats across the English Channel.

“The work subverts the alarmist headlines of tabloid newspapers into objects of hope (small boats) for refugees fleeing persecution in their own countries,” he said.

“The use of newsprint to construct the paper boats connects the work to tabloid media as well as recognising the fragility of the boats that try to cross the Channel. The use of orange ink refers to the colour of lifeboats and rescue craft patrolling the Channel.”

Also on display is Ursula Bevan Hunter’s Mangersta 01, below, one of a series of paintings and prints concerned with the effects of pollution on coastal ecosystems. The print relates to the three million-year-old rock formations that can be found on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

Meanwhile Yasmeen Khan created a series of fictional landscapes, inspired by the worlds and possibilities that stories conjure up.

And Lindy Furby’s installation, Hope Not Hate, features panels of silk fluttering in the air. Full-size images of clothing are printed on the panels and on the clothing there are images of migration. These are hung on a washing line which in itself is an image of home – a place of welcome and safety.

Astrid Turner, exhibitions co-ordinator, said working on the exhibition had been its own source of hope.

“The extraordinary energy, talent and creative impact of our members has been inspirational and I look forward to visitors to the exhibition taking hope from the works that resonate with them,” she said.”

Edinburgh Printmakers’ chief executive Janet Archer added: “The response for this year’s exhibition has shown that art and creative expression remain powerful sources of resilience not just for artists but for all of us.”

For those interested in learning more about printmaking or trying it out, there is an opportunity to book onto one of Edinburgh Printmakers’ upcoming courses.

All the works on show are for sale and eligible for purchase through the Own Art Scheme spreading the cost over 10 months at 0% interest.