Down Over Up @ The Fruitmarket Gallery

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re missing something? Like the punch line of a joke you just don’t understand, and you’re the only one not laughing. In this case the comedian is Scottish conceptual artist, and current favourite of the British art scene, Martin Creed. His work, titled Work No. 227 The Lights Going On and Off won the controversial Turner Prize in 2001 shooting him into the media spotlight. And the media sure did shoot back. He was blamed for everything that was wrong with contemporary art and used as a scapegoat for the highly criticised and contentious competition.

Having said that, Creed doesn’t really do himself any favours. He states, without a whiff of conceptual irony, that he ‘makes things.’ Even the Fruitmarket Gallery lauds his work for its inability to be interpreted. All well and good, but what exactly is the point? Are we to laugh knowingly along with the joke? Is it a joke? Are we going round in circles? The organisers of the current exhibition appear to have been equally confused.

Firstly, there is far too much ‘stuff’ scattered around the gallery; an ill-placed step could have you sitting on a cactus or tripping over a chair. Certain pieces, such as Nails (2007), that would have an otherwise strong visual presence become overlooked and absorbed by the larger and less stimulating works. Indeed, after an initial flurry of enthusiasm even the xylophone staircase becomes downright irritating.

All of this is not to say that Creed’s work is unworthy, but rather that this particular show is too contradictory. Certain pieces, like the monochrome ‘step’ paintings, are spot lit, imbuing them with a sense of importance and magnitude at odds with Creed’s ‘just stuff’ ethos. Furthermore, the felt-tip paintings, with their random colour sequences have no obvious relationship to the rigidly ordered collections of chairs, tables and Lego that constitute the rest of the exhibition. Confused? You will be! [Benjamin Bennett]