Jamie Shovlin - Aggregate

Part of a touring exhibition of four galleries that collects new works as it travels, this show is split up into four sections: Maps, Jigsaws, Books and Birds. The display takes on the form of a museum installation and faux-educational platform. The repartition and unforgiving nature of the presentation, source material and research tools has been personalised with the introduction of the artist's mother's hobby of bird watching, whilst completing jigsaws. This adds an emotional edge to the original research based exhibits; blurring the lines between human observation and scientific fact. Shovlin uses meticulous methods to display personal insights, as well as information taken from The Origin of Species. The use and clear appreciation of research systems becomes the structure holding the four sections together: however, there is also mockery of them and our blind
acceptance of their content. This body of work is difficult to interact
with and aesthetically does not draw the viewer in. The observations and
vast accumulation of research material indulge in, and isolate, themselves.
The artist is playing a game of solitaire and does not seem too keen to let
anyone else join in. [Morag Keil]