Satellite @ East Kilbride Arts Centre

The five artists that make up the collective Satellite visit the remote plains of Daer reservoir in South Lanarkshire. A small gallery in out-of-the-way East Kilbride Arts Centre hosts the artists' individual responses to their journey, the leafy surroundings perfectly suited to the endearingly nostalgic, back-to-nature style of the exhibition.

The combined pieces probe into the geographical and historical elements of Daer and its surrounding environment, yet also seem to channel a certain atmospheric warmth and romance from the reservoir itself. Archives dug up by Margaret McCormick tell quirky stories of an old community, the man who mined gold locally as a hobby and the problems of fish poaching in the reservoir. In the archives are smatterings of pencil drawings and photos which give the documents an engagingly personal touch. Meanwhile, Sam Stead’s grey and sepia-toned film invokes the still and Nordic gloom of Daer, re-contextualising it as part of the natural environment rather than a manmade reservoir. Conversely, the tarpaulin splayed out triumphantly in the gallery by Kevin Malcolm is a reminder of camping trips, forays into nature, and humankind’s control over its natural environment.

The developments of these artworks are tenderly written about by the artists on pieces of A4 paper strewn around the gallery. These blurbs are enjoyable, and even integral to the work, and could therefore have been integrated more effectively. Satellite’s Daer is a modest display but worth an afternoon jaunt to East Kilbride Arts Centre. A great start for their planned future developments, with much in the way of potential.

The Skinny previewed this event here.