Room 113, Point Hotel
Edinburgh
myspace.com/echoedinburgh
‘gleDinBow’ is pitched as an exhibition that has paired artists from Edinburgh with partners from Glasgow as a way to explore ‘sibling rivalry’ and attempt to cross perceived artistic boundaries between the two cities. In practise there is little discernable evidence of such links. What remains is essentially a solid group show by emerging artists.
The exhibition is located in an abandoned office block, and it is this space, and the use that has been made of it, that is really the exhibition’s selling point. Taking full advantage of the generous square-footage, Steve Mykietyn, Tonya McMullan, Derek Sutherland and Marine Myrup have created ambitiously large sculptural installations. Some of these works are more successful than others, but it is refreshing to see emerging artists attempting work on a large scale.
One of several solid film works, Shelly Nadashi’s strangely intriguing ‘Who Gives Birth?’ features a masked young woman (perhaps the artist?) intoning an almost-nonsense series of phrases in a weird sing-song voice. Acknowledging the building’s original use, Tonya McMullen’s video installation in the office kitchens shows a woman spinning around on an office chair with an absolutely straight face. But it is Beall’s ‘terra incognita (Unknown Land)’ that stands out. Set in a large office space, a projected image of a snowy, barely inhabited landscape rotates around the room. As the image moves, it illuminates aspects of the space: dangling light cords, old radiators and venetian blinds, juxtaposing this abandoned space with a mysterious land of snow.
Art’s Complex, St. Margaret’s House, until 21 Aug, 12pm-5pm, free
Room 113, Point Hotel, Edinburgh.
13 February 2008
Reviewed by: Jonathan Baxter
I entered the hotel lobby. Was I looking a little lost or was I just that type? “Hello, are you here for the show?”
“Isn't this the show?
“No, its upstairs in room 113.”
And with that, the briefest of conversations, I was ushered out of the lobby, into the lift - does it always hum like this or have they amplified the sound? - and into a crowded room of, well, I must admit, people like me.
But let me take a step back and explain the context. I'd been invited to a show by a new art collective called echo, the first in what promises to be 'a series of events throughout the year, dedicated to diversifying the role of contemporary art in Edinburgh and beyond.' Hence the non-art context, the Point Hotel, and the title of the show, Starting Point.
So what did I encounter when I entered room 113? Beyond the familiar visitors - rather too many to get the feeling that I was entering a hotel room - I noticed the largest intervention: a wall-based video projection entitled City Break. This showed one of the artists, Tonya McMullan, in winter coat and red beret standing in front of Edinburgh's mock-Acropolis on Calton Hill. Here, Tonya could be heard singing softly in a high-pitched voice that rose ever higher and higher. There were random 'events' in the background - one man, obviously playing to the camera, leant against a pillar and tried to collapse the Acropolis! - but it was unclear whether this was an intended contingency or a distracting by-product. Was the still frame of the video meant to suggest a holiday photograph, the illusion of which was shattered by the rising sound? Or was the voice somehow commenting on the rising pillars and their obvious folly? Whatever the intention, the voice was compelling.
Beneath this video was a double bed with clean white sheets, a white pillow and white duvet. People were laughing so I ventured forward - an intrepid explorer of room 113! - and laid down on the bed to the curious crunch and give - strangely erotic in fact - of the knäckerbröd (a Swedish oatmeal cracker) that had been placed under the white sheets and which, for some reason, made me think of dry shit, parched earth and infancy. (Indeed, I can still feel the tactile pleasure!)
Arising, and somewhat changed, I stepped into the bathroom. God knows how they charge so much money for these cheap suites, I thought. But then, what to make of the blue fluid in the bathtub, toilet and basin? Perhaps the trace of some cleaning product found in the cupboard? And then I noticed it: the intricate craft of an electricity pylon - about a foot tall - rising out of a crumpled white towel on the bathroom floor. This piece, entitled Out of Disorder and made by Takahiro Iwasaki, was both delicate and jarring. The pylon itself, made from white polymer thread, was in such marked contrast to the blue cleaning fluid that it vividly juxtaposed our technological artistry against, what seemed to me to be, a more sinister and destructive environmental side effect.
Out of the bathroom and into the UHT milk cartons: a Tower of Babel-like sculpture stacked precariously on a table and complementing the Acropolis on the other side of the room. Again, to my mind, this played with themes of what we consider to be 'natural' and 'artificial' and the mythic world that lies between them. Or perhaps the piece reflected the potential boredom of spending a weekend in this hotel room, cut off from the thrum of daily life?
To the left of the Tower - which was entitled Andrew Doolan's Palace; Doolan being the architect of the Point Hotel - was another video piece. Viewed on a customary hotel room TV screen, this piece showed the artist, Paulina Sandberg, apparently asleep in a wardrobe and hugging a white pillow. To Paulina's right were various objects; an apple and a small suitcase among them; placed upon the wardrobe shelves. The video was grainy, thus amplifying the dream-like quality of the piece, and with only a slow zoom-in for variation. On the other side of the room (although I actually encountered this piece, Stow-away, before I noticed the video) was a wardrobe which, when I opened it, contained a photocopy of Paulina hugging her pillow; this time with the apple and repositioned suitcase alongside various items of clothing. Again, to my mind, this piece had dream-like connotations: an array of archetypal images that the viewer was left to interpret. For me this hooked back into the Knäckerbröd Bed piece by evoking themes of emergent childhood sexuality. (Which is no doubt saying too much.)
The final intervention involved a semi-orderly cue of Starting Point participant-observers waiting to answer the telephone. When I finally got to the receiver I was greeted by a female voice, that of Jennifer Williams, and, after a failed attempt at conversation - I should have known; the piece was called Listener - I was made privy to a poem about ... well, something I can't translate into prose. But the language was rich, the imagery vivid, and the voice melodious. The only weakness, here, was that there wasn't enough give and take, begging the question why Listener was conceived as a 'live' performance rather than a pre-recording. (But perhaps there was some process of poetic selection in response to the opening conversation? Who knows.)
All in all I enjoyed the show: a form of concrete free association (whether intended to be or not). In retrospect I have been able to re-navigate room 113 and re-experience the work; surely evidence that echo created a well conceived show. My only reservation concerns the large number of people in the room for only three hours in duration, thus detracting from a serious engagement with the work both in real-time and context. That said, the numbers also indicate that there is an audience for this sort of collaboration in Edinburgh and I can only look forward to further echoes of this echo.
Writer detail:
Jonathan Baxter, artist and ... currently plays in Edinburgh.
Venue detail:
Room 113, Point Hotel
Edinburgh
myspace.com/echoedinburgh
List magazine, Starting Point by Alexander Kennedy, February issue, 2008
Hi Arts, west coast open, Ullapool visual Arts, by Georgina Coburn, 18th Sept. 2007
WEST COAST OPEN 3 (an talla solais, Ullapool, until 23 September 2007)
18 September 2007
ULLAPOOL Visual Arts’ latest open exhibition is clear evidence of a vibrant and diverse West Coast art scene. With work by well-known artists such as Barbara Peffers, Peter White, James Hawkins and Allison Weightman alongside both emerging professional and recreational practice, the show bodes well for the establishment of a local facility for visual arts including studio, workshop and exhibition space.
West Coast Open 3 represents a great range of work from painting and drawing to sculpture, ceramics, textiles, jewellery and mixed media with many innovative and inspirational pieces on display. The fluid relationship between Fine Art and Craft practices is displayed in the work of several artists and this is a unique strength throughout the region.
Innovative and unexpected use of materials can be seen in Merlin Planterose’s series of three “Wax Tiles” constructed from wax and paper and strong design is exhibited by two other works by the artist on show, “Large Bag” (fabric, card and found wood) and “Gravestone Necklace” (copper).
The robust open-chained necklace with a solid ingot naturally hollowed in the centre appears to be part construction, part assemblage of found elements.
This quality can also be seen in Natalie Ryde’s wonderful “A835 aka the Road Kill Brooch” in mixed media including wire and felt and material. It is a humorous, elegant piece of design and adornment transforming the found objects into something unexpected and extraordinary.
Another example is Tonya McMullan’s hanging work “LevelMadamLevel” reading like a curtain or screen and ingeniously constructed from the paper cut out words of the title in a continuous sequence.
Avril Moyes has contributed two textile works to the show, the first a dark piece of woven Polypropeline with a delicate tracery of diagonal lines of bare weave that allows the light to shine delicately through, and “Song of Ananke”, a bold geometric pattern of red hessian bands contrasted beautifully with painted sections of turquoise.
Barbara Peffers’ work “In Memory” constructed from soap stone, found wood and earth pigments displays a combination of refinement in the fine stone carving, the beauty of raw natural materials and the resonance of ancient Pictish symbols. The interplay of natural textures and the delicacy of fragmented human faces etched into stone are accomplished and distinctive.
There are some excellent examples of drawing in the show including the simplicity in pen and ink of Evelyn Peffers “Molly and her Puppies”, Rachel Wylie’s “Untitled II”, a beautiful abstract mixed media work in turquoise, ultramarine, purple and cream, and Lynn Bennett-Mackenzie's naïve illustrative pen and ink “Someone to Watch Over Me”.
Other highlights in the show include Susan Brown’s “Two Doors” (oil bar) a vibrant, semi abstract composition with energetic cross-hatched layers of colour and the visual anchor of mountain ranges in the distance.
Eleanor White’s two intriguing mixed media triptychs in jewel like colour and Francis Fogg’s “Shore Street” (Ink on card) containing a softness of light and colour that is still, contemplative and glowing contrasted with white drawn lines scratched into the surface.
Two distinctive emerging painters in the exhibition this year (and also memorable in the previous show) are Adam Pellant and Cecilia Garbutt. Pellant’s “Harbour and Village” (acrylic & mixed media) is a fascinating combination of raw energy through use of colour; ochre, sienna, black and ultramarine, loose handling of paint and characteristic under-drawing or mark making allowed to shine through.
There is great spontaneity in this work which is both exciting and refreshing. Garbutt’s “The Angel” and “The Beacon” (both acrylic) are beautifully balanced and composed with complimentary abstract geometric and organic forms coupled with figurative elements. Her style is a fine combination of drawn, scraped and painted textures well balanced by colour and form.
With the current an talla solais building (formerly Ullapool Library) to be demolished, a proposal for the long term lease of the nearby former medical centre as a much needed arts centre for the area is to be considered by Highland Council.
Exhibitions such as this one reveal that the region can be justifiably proud of the visible presence of visual artists within the community who contribute so much to how residents and visitors view Highland life and our unique environment.
The subject matter, media and techniques are extremely diverse and an overwhelmingly positive sign of a healthy, proactive and creative community.
(Open 2pm to 5pm until 23 September).
© Georgina Coburn, 2007
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an magazine, Annuale 3 by Guyan Porter, October issue, 2006
Reviews & previews
Annuale III
By: Guyan John Porter
Edinburgh
28 July – 3 September
‘Annuale’ is co-coordinated by The Embassy, with a broad programme including publication launches, live events and exhibitions. Claiming to be “playing on the high budget, high profile international art Biennales and Triennials”, it includes a diversity of artist-led activity in sixteen venues across the city, showing an ambitious range of work, and a visual arts alternative to the Edinburgh Festival.
At TotalKunst in the collectively run Forest Café, Living Room Banter is an installation by three artists, curated by Ben Newell, “based on the idea of the living room as a hub of inspiration”. It is hard to distinguish where one work ends and another begins, creating spurious conversations between the images. On the wall as you go in there is a torn bit of card with a scribbled plan illustrating the layout of the works. With endless references to pop culture all set in what looks like an art students’ living room, the show also makes nods towards public protest and isolationism, with the television literally taking centre stage. Paul Pable’s work, Portrait of a Man Inhabited by his Space, collages ripped up magazines and newspaper text surrounding the scribbled words “and suddenly there was a clash of voices”. Emily Ritchie shows a series of naïvely drawn biro portraits framed and titled Countless Meanwhiles, with further photocopied drawings stuck on top of magazine cuttings. Gregory D Bradford has covered the back wall with a load of torn cardboard. At the bottom of the wall is a scribbled sign saying Main Building Janitors.
Following instructions on the website, I head for ‘Magnifitat’ – a show in a flat, which has been used intermittently as an exhibition space since 2002, showing over sixty artists’ works. Unfortunately I arrive to find the show isn’t open yet. Fortunately I happened to meet Ben and Holly, (also trying to see the show). They are making a durational piece of performance art – Table for Two – during this year’s Fringe festival. Taking place on board Dr Robert’s Magic Bus, they are publicly recording all their eating and toilet activities for the twenty-three-day period.
At The Embassy is a show of five artists with the deceptively playful title, ‘Playing Beyond the Ha Ha’. There is an air of decadence and materiality throughout this show, and this work manages to capture an idea of glamour and greed, and how wrong it can all go. In Francis Summers’ The End, a large projection of the head of a glamour model judders disconcertingly, with the words ‘The End’ slowly and erratically taking form across her face. Neil Davidson’s Thermos Museum adopts the back and garden spaces, creating a museum to the humble thermos flask. With a brilliant audio sound tour that gives an intimate history to these constructed interiors, it creates a quirky and nostalgic environment, and questions the construction of history and culture. I am fortunate enough to overhear Davidson in conversation whilst he is building the world’s biggest thermos, talking about his dad and modern architecture. If only this was part of the piece. Tonya McMullan’s Revolving Jewellery Cabinet glistens alluringly, looking on first sight surprisingly like a revolving jewellery cabinet. The jewellery however is all made out of discarded silver foil and cardboard, and along with her Magic Tree Chandelier adds vital elements to this sinister environment. Throughout this show there is an intensity and a precision amidst the comical and the throwaway, with the words ‘The End’ leaving a prophetic and ominous message.
The mission statement of ‘Annuale’ is disappointing. As the American and British governments continue to supply weapons of mass destruction to Israel and numerous other states, should concerns about international art biennales really be given this much profile when more pressing issues are surrounding us? On saying that, there is a range of work throughout the festival dealing with a range of issues, with the international art market quite low down on the priority scale. The work that stands out does not deal directly with political issues, but looks at strange aspects of culture that grow out of uncertainty, often dealing with the underlying, the unseen. Neurosis and distrust hidden away surely breeds monsters.
The Herald, ‘Vacuum-packed exhibition stays fresh and funny’, by Jack Mottram, 25th August 2006
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The Scotsman, ‘From moody landscapes to Thermos flasks, from magic tree chandeliers to giant mushrooms, four new shows challenge, charm and disarm, by Susan Mansfield, 22nd August 2006
Published Date: 22 August 2006
By SUSAN MANSFIELD
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Edinburgh Evening News, ‘Show has very high degree of creativity’, degree show review by David Pollock, 22nd June 2004
extract-‘ not to be missed are the clever, ironic works of Tonya McMullan – Queen of Jigsaws’