Dark Shadows, Uneasy Tension, and a Ford Ka: This Week in Scottish Art

In this week's art round-up, you'll find online and radio art works, new shows at a host of Glasgow and Edinburgh galleries, and a celebration of Hannibal Lecter.

Feature by Adam Benmakhlouf | 14 Apr 2015

We start with a reiteration of last week’s advanced warning of Gordon Douglas’ evening of performances tonight at Glasgow's CCA. Using the myths of pop culture for their own ends, fans, artists and writers present work on Dr Hannibal Lecter (Tue 14 Apr, 7pm arrival for 7:30pm start). Also at CCA this week, Radiophrenia continues as a "temporary FM art radio station – a week-long exploration into current trends in sound and transmission arts.” The channel will be broadcast until Sun 19 Apr, 24 hours a day. The full schedule, and a live stream of the station, can be found on the CCA website.

Also ideal for insomniacs is DarkSound, “a piece of net art shining a light on the dark shadows of the hour of the night”, presenting “a visually and captivating piece set within a mysterious tenement”. It’s an interactive sound and visual website work made by MA students from ECA – access it here, after sunset.

Tomorrow at Generator in Dundee, Kim W. Wilson and Hans K. Clausen discuss their current show What Remains, in which they make work from inelegant materials. In Clausen’s case, his work is made from found objects, such as his wall of gloves. Wilson, on the other hand, piles wool grease, bone oil, peat and oil-shale waste to make an imposing sculpture in Generator, as well as accompanying works on paper. The talk takes place from 7-9pm, Wed 15 Apr.

On Thursday in Glasgow, in the Gallery of Modern Art’s main space, four early Katy Dove animations will be screened from 5:30pm, as part of the GoMA Moving Image Season. Dove brings together animation, drawing and printmaking in her video works, as well as generating the meditative, atmospheric soundtracks that blend environmental wind and bird noises with meditative chanting and percussion. Some of Dove’s work can be seen here, but Thursday evening presents a good opportunity to see the pieces in a proper installation context. Here’s October, from 2011, as a taster of what's in store.

In Edinburgh’s Embassy gallery this Friday, artists Mel Franklin Smith and Alex Pollard preview their new show MUD∞. They’re working with a strange and inconsistent list of collaborators, including the German Democratic Republic, Physarum Polycephalum (the many-headed slime), computer animation artist Clifford Sage and Jeff Koons’ contemporary Meyer Vaisman. It’s all a bit slippery, and considering a previous Franklin Smith and Pollard collaboration involved wirelessly hacking visitors’ iOS 8 devices, maybe leave your electronics at home for this one. Mud previews this Friday, 17 April, from 7pm.

On Friday in Glasgow, the day begins academically enough with Egyptian artist Iman Issa delivering the GSA’s Friday Event in the Glasgow Film Theatre at 11am (free, no booking required). Issa will speak about her work across sculpture, text video, photography and sound, which “explores the relationship between history, memory, language and objects”. And from 6-8pm in the Glasgow Sculpture Studios, there’s the chance to get the first look at Issa’s work for her show Parables.

Over at SWG3 from 8-10pm, Jimmy Merris unveils Life Eh, Tut. Merris works across video, performances, drawing and events. There’s an obvious economy and concern with “down-at-heel consumerism” in a lot of what he produces, and this time around he’s sparing some expense by displaying drawings on brown paper, and within the space will be a sensibly-priced Ford Ka. Topping off Friday is the after party for both Merris’ and Issa’s openings, at The Poetry Club from 10pm ’til late.

And Friday’s just the start this week, with Saturday bringing new offerings from Mary Mary and Koppe Astner (FKA Kendall Koppe). First, Mary Mary has brought together seven artists from Berlin, New York, Los Angeles and Glasgow to focus on photography, and “draw a link between and abstract ideas about, still lives, objects and photography itself”. Titled Eat Abstractedly, the preview takes place between 6-9pm, Sat 18 Apr.

Downstairs in Koppe Astner, also from 6-9pm, is the first night of George Henry Longly’s show Volume Excess. London-based Longly sees his work “more about making exhibitions than artworks” and his installations put precisely composed work and themes into an “uneasy tension”. In previous work, he’s made large-scale marble sculptures embedded with cosmetic products, and also performs as a DJ for his club night Anal House Meltdown. Said club night will be taking place at The Brunswick from 9pm-2am on the same Saturday.

Last but not least, it’s the final week of Laurence Figgis’ exhibition in 1 Royal Terrace, Oh my Have. It’s a small exhibition of bold and bright painted, printed and drawn collaged works from Figgis’ experimental novel Blonda, both a dramatisation of the collage form and a “sentimental story of love, loss, jealousy and political ambition unfolding in a world that is at once magical and bureaucratic”. 1 Royal Terrace is open Saturday and Sunday from 12-5pm.


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