CHANGE IS not something that artist and designer Morag Myerscough particularly dreads – in fact, it seems to energise her, as the last few years have shown. Known for her colourfully exuberant works designed to create a sense of joy and belonging in those who encounter them, Myerscough has transformed her way of life with an unexpected move to the countryside. Myerscough was born in Holloway, moved to Clerkenwell, then spent 15 years living and working in Hoxton. But, in 2021, she moved to a small village in Surrey. ‘It’s totally not about wanting to live in a village in Surrey,’ she laughs. In fact, it was what a less optimistic personality might have described as making the best of things, as the difficulties of the pandemic and its aftermath made keeping a 4,000 sq ft part-commercial space in the heart of the capital unsustainable. ‘I wanted to cut down my overheads, but when I looked for a house in London with a garden there was nothing equivalent to buy. I would have had to move to something half the size and I need a lot of space to do my work.
‘I used to feel I was tied to London because of meetings, but the ease of things like Teams and Zoom have made it so much more realistic to live somewhere else. I had a cash offer on my house and the next day I saw this idyllic place in Surrey with five acres of land – it’s such a contrast! I talk a lot about belonging, and London is totally who I am and what I am. So I wouldn’t say that Surrey is where I belong, but it’s what I want right now, to live more sustainably in this house with all this space around me. ‘I don’t think I will live here forever, but I’m so glad that I made this radical, drastic change. It’s too easy to accept the same things all the time when you are older –
Profile Artist and designer Morag
Myerscough talks about how she embraces change in her life and work
when you are young you are changing all the time,’ says Myerscough, who is in her late fifties. ‘Why do we feel that need for things to be permanent? Life isn’t really about where you are, but about who you are with. I was always surrounded by people, now it’s my dog Elvis and my partner Luke and lots of trees and grass. I have solar panels and a heat pump, and I almost live off my home-grown vegetables. I wanted to experience a life that was drastically different.’
She has always cared about her environmental choices – she was an early adopter of electric vehicles, buying a G-Wiz 16 years ago when it was definitely a quirky choice (its 50 mile range, bug-eyed style and total lack of safety features won it Auto Express’s Worst Car Ever Award). But the move to the countryside has transformed her relationship with nature. ‘I seem to be quite good at
Above and right Morag Myerscough at her reimagined Roman gatehouse at Housesteads Fort on Hadrian’s Wall
ALL IMAGES: ENGLISH HERITAGE
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