If you happen to run into a full head of black-and-blonde racoon tails in the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), chances are, it’s Evie Cervine, working overtime in the studio on both her course and on her art. A fourth-year studying Performance Costume at the ECA, Evie is also an artist whose works span a variety of mediums, including painting, textile sculpture, and installation art.
At the end of her high school career, she thought she’d given up on art forever. Despite studying only art-related A-Levels, she pivoted to Performance Costume in university in favour of picking a more “practical” option. For two years, she abstained from making art. It was only in her third year, when, unexpectedly moved by an exhibition she was visiting, she recalled her passion for creating and dove back into painting. Since then, she has never stopped.
While she’s had an unconventional return to art, her experience studying Performance Costume lends itself to her unique artistic practice. Her training in costume making and design facilitated experiments with unconventional mediums, including her signature textile sculptures. It’s also prompted an exploration into more abstract styles—she used to specialise in figurative art, especially in painting portraits.
Beyond that, her not being a Fine Art student has come with its fair share of challenges. Without the formal structure of a Fine Arts degree, she also lacks its resources: her first exhibition, Dirty Birds (2026), was displayed in her bedroom.
Her most recent exhibition, Worm Women, was inspired by walks through the Meadows. Drawing on traditions of ornithnomancy (an ancient Greek method of reading omens from birds), it examines the culture of modern love and courtship. But that’s only her interpretation of it. Unlike most exhibitions, you’re not going to find plaques explaining her art.
“I don’t want to tell people what to think,” says Evie.
Worm Women was displayed at the ECA on 13 March 2026. Her next public exhibition will be with the ECA’s Working Class Collective, at the group show Anthill at Whitespace Gallery. Anthill will open on 30th of March 2026.
Photo provided by Evie Cervine for The Student
