Visit to Homecoming Exhibition

SRPS Youth Group visited Leo du Feu’s Homecoming exhibition at Linlithgow Burgh Hall this September to explore how railway spaces, nature and art connect to improve wellbeing.

Our youth group spends a lot of time out and about onsite at Bo’ness, gardening, painting, recording wildlife, and helping to look after our green spaces. Alongside the practical work that improves the site for everyone, these sessions give them time outdoors, develop teamworking skills, and have opened up conversations about anxiety, isolation, and how familiar surroundings can affect how we feel.

Building on those conversations, some of this year’s cohort want to develop an art project to re-view our railway spaces and explore how memory, nature and personal perspective can change what we notice about the world around us and about ourselves.

Searching for inspiration

To help the group think about how artists explore place, we took them to Linlithgow Burgh Halls to see Homecoming, a solo exhibition by contemporary artist and ScotRail Community Champion Leo du Feu.

Leo’s work appeals strongly to our young train enthusiasts because it combines railway subjects with close observation of landscapes and natural places. They are also interested in the honesty of his personal story: he has spoken openly about his mental health challenges, and about how working outdoors has supported his recovery, resilience, and wellbeing.

Connecting to the artwork

The day began with the group exploring the bright, open gallery at the Burgh Halls. They moved around the paintings at their own pace, noticing colours, lines, landscapes and characters. It did not take long for them to start making links between Leo’s work, their own experiences, and the railway spaces we are set to investigate.

Spotlight on Montrose: a firm favourite

While the whole gallery sparked conversation, one painting drew particular interest. The mixed-media piece titled Montrose quickly captured the group’s imagination. 

Several group members were drawn to the bright, energetic colour palette, joking that the blue and yellow train crossing the bold orange viaduct gave them “Thomas the Tank Engine vibes”. One young person made a perceptive observation: despite the painting’s railway theme, the train was not the main focus. Their eye went first to the large green and white tree in the foreground, shifting attention towards the wider environment rather than the engine moving through it. Some of the group felt the scene looked strikingly similar to the view over the line from the wild space above Birkhill station, and that link to a place they already knew led to a thoughtful conversation about what the focus of their own creative project might be.

Reflections and next steps

Afterwards, over drinks in the Burgh Hall café, the young people began unpacking the ideas the exhibition had sparked: How do the spaces we travel through every day make us feel? Where do we find calm? What makes a place memorable, comforting or exciting? And how might we share those feelings with visitors?

One thought that came out during the discussion was to organise a forest bathing session.  Armed with cameras, notebooks and sketchpads, our next adventure will take us into the Birkhill wild space. By slowing down and paying attention to the sights and sounds around them, the young people will gather material for their own creative responses. The session will also give them another way to compare different kinds of space, from quiet woodland paths to busy railway settings, and think about how each can support positive mental health.

Looking ahead

Our trip to Homecoming showed how art can start conversations, help people feel better, and give shape to new creative ambitions.  We are now waiting to hear whether our application to the Youth Arts Open Fund to develop a youth-led ‘Railway Spaces and Wellbeing Project’ has been successful. The support will help us work directly with Leo, develop more workshops, and open up more opportunities for local young people to explore the links between railway spaces, creativity and wellbeing.

Find out more about Homecoming here.