Roger & Reid - Trail of Tears

Following war, death and remembrance with a light hearted chuckle, artists
Graeme Rodgers and Kevin Reed collaborate on a road trip taking them from
Memphis USA to Culloden Scotland. The Embassy gallery exhibits the British
premier of their film 'Trials of Tears' which documents specific parts of
this road trip. Shown along side the film are objects and artworks that relate to and have been collected during the road trip. The two artists'
shared interest in cultural oddities, eccentrics, macho stunts and historical events form the structures that drive their ideas along.

This work balances finely between endorsement and ridicule, without ever completely bridging the gap between each position. Aspects of the film depict the morose, pride and remembrance of past Scottish battles: these scenes are overpowered by the ridicule of the individuals they meet during the American leg of the journey. The faux seriousness and extreme lengths they go to to complete "Jackass" style stunts - including firing a high powered food launcher - highlights the foolishness of such activities and the passion people have in them, but this ridicule is undermined by the fact that the artists themselves are involved and enjoying it. The juxtaposition of the
seemingly sincere remembrance of great battles and the immature prank-like
attitude to high powered weapons mock each other, highlighting the foolishness of war and humankind, but also our inability to transcend the human.

There are many themes and ideas cluttering up this work: the road trip itself is a physical representation of the trip: showing how ideas can go on and on, change, develop or go off on a tangent. This work has a great deal of these tangents in it but also has a unifying theme and is a glimpse into the collaborative process as it develops an idea.