Galleries Galore (Part 1 May - July)

Following my degree show I felt creatively exhausted and to at least keep the creativity flowing, I vowed to visit as many exhibitions as possible now that I had time on my hands. My first stop was DJCAD BA Fine Art degree show in May.

Hannah Watson’s body of work Offerings, Windows and Vessels uses natural materials to create spiritual offerings wrapping twigs in coloured wool. She creates these works to assist with her own anxiety through a meditative process and as a form of gratitude for the natural landscape.

Initially I was drawn to the rainbow colours and the use of natural materials and admired the inventiveness of how she framed her artist statement as a way of drawing my attention.

Memory is at the core of Cairistiona Cockburn’s practice where she explores words and materials to connect with her identity. Words and text from her past and the deterioration of specific materials provided a sense of the duration of time. The words used in some panels was very emotive and the layout of the installation allowed the viewer to feel like you are taking a journey through her life as I moved through the work. I sensed feelings of calm and positive energy and left with a feeling of having witnessed fond memories.

Tom Fairlamb explores the close connection between humans and technology with time-based media installations. His work is so engaging and I was curious to get up close to some strange objects and gadgets. In this body of work – Make Me Make Them Make Us he combines everyday objects and sculptural work with simple actions and humour, cleverly combining 2D digital with 3D. The addition of sound adds another layer to his work and helps to interpret the narrative (in some cases). I love his sense of simplicity, playfulness and inventiveness.

In June closer to home in Perth I visited The Window gallery space at Fergus Purdie architects. Lada Wilson’s work is often site-specific, responding directly to associations of the location and uses audience engagement through performance as a key element of her practice. In this work gld [d3i:el di:] Wilson used words that were revealed one page at a time and carefully added to the window frame ”stage” space. I didn’t connect the words to form an obvious story but the simple use of one word on each page was very relaxing and with the occasional word not in English, I believe she was making a connection between different countries and how things translate.

Her all white clinical-like attire was maybe a connection to her native country Croatia and obviously intentional so it didn’t detract from observing the words. I wonder if sunlight had been considered too as the shadows of the viewers outside the window provided some interesting shapes.

Up until now I never took the time to fully understand Banksy’s work and dismissed it often as pretentious and attention-seeking. Attention seeking is exactly what it is and deservedly so. My visit to GOMA (Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art) occurred midweek in July as many dates were sold out. Cut and Run (25 years card labour) exposed his intricately cut stencils and a reminder of key political events with humour and poignancy. His work prove that he is not just a gimmick and his ability to get in and out of illegal spaces without being arrested is also skilful (although he has a team of lookouts). The mystery that surrounds Banksy is intrigue and the reveal of his shredding stunt was pure genius. No mobile phones were allowed (another clever idea) and only the staff could take polaroids to hand to the visitors on request. Affordable admission and location allowed this exhibition to be accessible to all. I now have the utmost respect for this witty and talented artist. My favourite exhibition of the summer without a doubt.

What could possibly top Banksy? However I had plenty more exhibitions to visit in the next few weeks. A lovely sunny day in July was the perfect day to visit an outdoor exhibition at Dundee Botanics by Gail Neckel (a former fellow student at UHI Perth) -smartphone +NATURE.

Neckel’s work focuses on the beauty of nature that surrounds us in close up using only her mobile phone. What I loved about this work (micro abstraction) is that there is no hidden messages or deep meaning and just sheer natural beauty shown in a way that we don’t usually get that close enough to appreciate. The micro work shows the textures, patterns and colour (although most of her images are monochrome) which allowed them to really stand out from the surroundings. The exhibition also had an interactive element where visitors were encouraged to take photos on their mobile phone and modify with only the phone’s creative tools and email to the artist.

Also in the gardens was Pollen-8 by sculptor Ailsa Magnus . To promote an awareness of climate change, eight sculptures were carved from the garden’s Elm tree which was blown down during Storm Arwen. The collaborative project had bumblebees made by P6 pupils from Dundee schools and a sensory garden is to be developed around the sculpture in the near future. The two sculptures at the entrance have alien-like heads and look like they are guarding the space and the alien “eggs” or pods on the other sculptures.

The layout has a ritualist feel and the beautifully finished wood has a lovely shine that reflects the light with a striking addition of turquoise somewhere on each sculpture. I look forward to visiting the garden when the space matures around it.