FESTIVAL VISUAL ART | Previews & Reviews
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REVIEW CRAIG COULTHARD: THE DRUMMER AND THE DRONE An imaginative military film set in Scotland’s future ●●●●●
Under the darkened, vaulting ceiling of Trinity Apse, a few yards from the tartan-infested Royal Mile, the strain of bagpipes rings out. The sound echoes that of gift-shop muzak and Highland- dress buskers all the way up to the Esplanade, but the tone is different. Here a piper and a drummer, projected full size on a screen in the darkness, perform a dramatic lament and then rest, staring blankly ahead, while a synthesised female voice reads a eulogy for those who served in a campaign of combat. The process is repeated more than once before the film transports us to the Highlands, and finally to Coulport, the storage facility for the UK's stock of Trident warheads. Craig Coulthard's reference points in this work are all apparent
and lucidly placed together to echo the concerns of earlier works like ‘Forest Pitch’, in that they’re partly constructed to examine the relationship between humanity and nature. The conflicts described by the disembodied voice come from some speculative future Scotland where ecological conflicts are seemingly dominant Between each of the piper segments an imaginary 3D CGI
monument develops, its straight grey lines barely hinting at the weathered cairns of ceremonial remembrance we know from cemeteries and public parks. Coulthard's aim is compelling, to form a visual nexus in time which lies deep in the trappings of tradition and the imagined conflicts of the future our nation and planet might have to face. Yet the delivery is reserved and in some ways staid, with the piping sequence dulled by over- repetition. While pandering to an audience who might be drawn in by the sound of pipes isn’t necessary, this space cries out for more dynamism than might be found here. (David Pollock) ■ Trinity Apse, Edinburgh, until 31 Aug, free.
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PREVIEW POETRY FOR THE PALACE: POETS LAUREATE FROM DRYDEN TO DUFFY Exhibition exploring the role of the poet laureate
This new exhibition seeks, says curator Deborah Clarke, to be ‘a unique mix of words, art, and voices relating to the poets laureate, including original manuscripts and rare editions, many personally inscribed, handwritten or illustrated by the poets themselves.’ Among the most significant works and artefacts on display will be a photograph of Alfred Tennyson dating back to 1865 taken by his Isle of Wight neighbour Julia Margaret Cameron, which was acquired by Queen Victoria. Also on display will be a work by the artist
Stephen Raw celebrating current poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy. ‘Stephen has collaborated with Carol Ann for a number of years on many of her public commissions,’ says Clarke. ‘His love of language is fundamental to all his work and his aim is “to make language visible”. He takes lines or words or whole poems, turns his back on the normal typography, on the usual conventions of line lengths and line breaks and – concentrating on particular words and emphasising sentences – gives a visual form to Duffy's poems.’ (David Pollock) ■ Queen’s Gallery, 556 5100, until 2 Nov, £6.50 (£3.25–£5.90).
98 THE LIST FESTIVAL 7–14 Aug 2014
PREVIEW CAPTAIN LIGHTFOOT PRESENTS . . . Group show inspired by Lauriston Castle setting PREVIEW GARAGE Adventurous group exhibition in unusual New Town domestic space
Set in the Victorian glasshouse at Lauriston Castle, Captain Lightfoot Presents . . . is the latest exhibition from the Captain Lightfoot collective. ‘The collective was brought together through our
shared research into narrative and symbolism within visual art, rather than through one geographical location,’ explains Emma Pratt, one of the international collective’s three founding members. Pratt is based in Edinburgh, while Anneli Holmstrom works in Finland and Kadie Salmon in London. For this exhibition, they're joined by artists Stephen Kavanagh and Jessie Makinson. A combination of painting, photography and sculpture will make up the exhibition’s site-specific work. Anneli Holmstrom’s work involves a series of mixed media sculptures, which she describes as ‘taking the form of a group of anthropomorphic characters at a garden party’. Holmstrom explains: ‘These sculptures shall work with the notion of the glasshouse as a 'plant cage', a place where characters roam through social structures that simultaneously support and restrict them.’ (Kirsty Neale) ■ Glasshouse at Lauriston Castle, 336 2060, 9–15 Aug, 10am–4pm, free.
Each weekend during the Edinburgh Art Festival, Garage, a mini art festival located inside and outside of 51A Northumberland Street, will open to the public. Organised by artist Emma Bowen, invited guest curators and sundry artists will inhabit unusual domestic spaces in the New Town. For Bowen, ‘showing work in a non-gallery space,
without a structured programme [is] exciting, appealing and liberating’, a way of ‘getting people together and having some fun’. Works include a film by Denis Uster, paintings
by Belinda Gilbert Scott, sculpture by David MacDiarmid and a sound piece from Aleatory Music Systems. Garage is ‘like a playful installation that envelops a selected group of artists whose work fits into the particular environment visually, not thematically,’ says Bowen. In addition to the exhibition programme, there are screenings and drop-in discussions with the artists. Bowen and her collaborators promise an informal environment for guests to appreciate and discuss a broad range of work, as well as the inventive use of everyday domestic spaces. (Dane Sutherland) ■ Garage, 07917 668 044, 9 & 10, 16 & 17, 23 & 24, 30 & 31 Aug, free.