Post-Heroic Societies In The Long Shadow Of War

This solo exhibition of works by Brendan Gallagher, a member of the Trongate
studios, takes on issues of identity and modern day classifications; looking at the way social structures allow us to include or exclude different groups. The class system has been updated to become media orientated and appearance based. Gallagher uses bright, brash colours over collage, giving the end result of a barrier obscuring the image beneath which is a view of the idealised identity, taken form a magazine advert. The frustration and battle with the imaged based society is depicted on the canvas, yet no single image is obtained and the confusion is never resolved. Through the printed and copied images, the unique brush marks and array of quotations, there is a definite aesthetic being sought after, yet each one battles with the others, leaving the view bemused as to the artist's intentions. The confusion on the canvas most definitely relates to confusion in modern day life, as well as a personnal confusion of identity within someone. The artworks never manage to find themselves and in their layered imagery the viewer becomes lost. [Morag Keil]