ART REVIEW
CERIPHS
[flirt/y Bales (If 5 Mil/er Sll't't’l. .lttt/l' Spark (ll llitlt'i'Xlutit'K‘. t'm'mi .S'Ir‘et‘l. (it’tlh‘t’filt until Sn! 4 May and Kiri-Iv .S'lturs‘lte/(l (ll 693W 5! George 'v' Street. (i/uv‘emv mm/ Sat 37.41»: People say angst is an essential part of the creative process. so tlte three artists behind ('w'i’p/rs should be grateful. As part ol‘(ilasgovv‘s Festival of Visual Arts. their public art collaboration aims to decorate the cityscape vv ith visual delights that siiiitiltaneously explore ‘anxiety. repetitive behaviour and escapism.’ ll' smashing vvindovvs also falls into these categories. the project‘s- audience has tuned in telepatlucally quick. tn the vveek prior to opening. tvvo (‘err’p/i sites — both vacant units in Glasgow's city centre vvere vandalised. This. along vvith technical difficulties.
*1
meant that Emily Bates's contribution to the project remained purely
conceptual for this rev ievv er. Complete.
however. the installation. vvhich is close to Argyle Street. and the materials chosen — salt. human hair and diltused light ~ shotild generate an intriguing alt‘ect.
()vercoming similar problems. Kirsty Statistield’s video-based installation at Charing ("toss opened on schedule. Against the backdrop of Rannoch
Moor. the artist builds a vv all vvhich
gradually obscures the landscape and herself. Brick upon brick. the structure eventually fills the vvhole screen and the solitary access point to her alternative reality is completely blocked as the urban gradually dominates the rural. The familiar metaphors oi vvall as protector. escluder and divider are literally re» constructed.
Third cert/Judy Spark. has chosen the project‘s most challenging site. Competing vvith the high impact of the world of publishing. her photographs in Waterstone‘s are frozen moments in time. Drops of water tilled vvith reflected. retracted light stretch and bulge btrt never tall. are all beautifully detailed and technically accomplished. In this space. hovv ever. the vvork seems lost. The visually greedy vvorld ol' bestsellers is bright. brash and noisy but Spark‘s delicate brush strokes tail to shout LOOK lotrd enough. tl’aul Welsh)
Certphs: enlivening the cityscape
HELEN SEAR
Portfolio Gallery, Edinburgh until Sat 18 May.
Helen Sear’s photographs apparently concern the relationship between nature and technology - ‘the body as it is visualised by modern medicine’ —
Animal landscapes: a photograph from Helen Sear
and images from dreams and memory. This art speak burdens her work with a certain complexity but what is most apparent on first looking at her work is how striking and unnervineg bizarre it is.
Sear photographs in detail the fur of stuffed animals dimly lit. She then makes holes in the resulting photograph and inserts tiny light bulbs and re-photographs the image. To then maximise the effect, she enlarges the image to an impressive scale so the fur resembles a landscape, the pattern of lights mapping a curious pattern across the surface.
What is most disconcerting in Sear’s work is the combination of natural and artificial textures — the way she resets natural objects in an unnatural setting. The heaps of sand and twigs in many of her works are as unreal as their furry counterparts. Yet even if Sear’s work is perplexing and uncomfortable, her photographs have a strangely beautiful effect. (Tanya Stephan)
? Show has already introduced many to
Wood. Here their work can be found in
5 identity to society. Cult performance
Fringe Film and Video Festival, Filmhouse and Traverse, Edinburgh until Sun 21 Apr.
if there’s a sea of change in the world of art, then artists exhibiting in this self-proclaimed “feast of moving image media’ will cause more than a few ripples. Edinburgh’s British Art
the video and film work of Tacita Dean, Gillian Wearing and Sam Taylor- .
a collection of video works by fifteen artists assembled under the title Speaking 0! Sofas. They have chosen a short, esoteric way of relating
artist, leigh Bowery, pegs down our voyeuristic tendencies while Clio Barnard opts for obscured reality.
A second compilation of work by predominantly London-based artists, gathered as A Small Shifting Sphere 0! Serious Culture, continues with
E similar themes. Here, Georgina Starr ' and Damien Hirst are represented
l alongside Matthew Glamorre’s visual
glitter ball of smashing clublife, Angus Cook’s abstract images, and Dinos and Jake Chapman’s shocking group sex performance.
However, more interesting and possibly more accessible video
creativity comes from fifteen Glasgow-based artists, presented under the title Chicken Farm, and demonstrating a lively pre-occupation
; with self-identity. Cameras become
mirrors reflecting ourselves. Jonathan Monk uses make-up to mimic members from Kiss, and Douglas Gordon transforms himself into a
: monster with sellotape. Anne-Marie
; Copestake tilms dogs with human
. barking, whiist Tara Babel pours milk 2 on to the steps of Glasgow School of Art.
However, the real tidal wave of new
2 artistic activity emerges with
i interactive CD-Homs. Computer
; screens become canvasses on which
, all extremes of images, sounds and
' film clips are pulled together, making unpredictable and subversive results. . A relatively new medium, little seen in ' Britain, it demands active imput from = viewers, not passive observation. With 3 Anti'flom from London-based SASS,
there is every possibility that no
. single person will experience the
' same barrage of images, and French
group, Tekno-Mind have devised a floppy disc, Flyers Generator, that
owes much to club culture. Video
artists aim to stimulate from a distance, but the pure limitless
f pleasure of interactive art on screen
feeds so many senses. Art is literally becoming what you make it. (Paul Smith)
MEETING HENDERSON
Assent/fly lv’omiis. lit/rir/iiir‘e/r int/I! Hi (I 24 Apr:
hi the spirit of saying “hi' to John l-lendei'son. the long dead architect vv ho iii I782 was appointed to design the Assembly Rooms. eight artists sllti‘.‘. ; their work in vv hat vvas once a premier venue on Edinburgh's l.\’tli century happening classy scene. .l/r'r‘lt/tc' Henderson is a good move collaboration betvvcen the ('olleetive Gallery and Assembly alivel in art attempt to inject more present day up into the place.
The artists vvere invited to make vvork in response to l-lendcrson's architectural scheme. Yet many \vet‘e not that literally to the chap. In truth. the space. though grand. is really no more than a village hall vv ith architectural llotinces. and is not that art-friendly. Tvvo artists do respond well to the venue. Jane l5. \\'att vveaves strips ol‘ muslin betvveen columns. allovving glimpses of‘ the classical nymphets standing iii the alcoves
behind. While lv’rrssell llar‘t protects tvvo images ot' a chandelier. in the
' company oi the real chandelier. on to
the mirrored stairvvell \valls. :\nd even though I don't think meeting or greeting Henderson vvas oti his tnind.
.\lark lladdon‘s installation xvitli
soundtrack has impact. Inspired by letters xv i‘itten by his grandlathcr l'rom a l‘irsr World War l‘-attlelield. it has an intriguing lltl.\ ol' ravvness and glit/ vvooden stands. partially decorated vv itli glitter. support a polished piece ol' granite.
Brigid 'lcehan's vvot'k visits prc pubescent equine lantasy land, .-\nd vve are not just talking gy triklianas. ('trtting and pasting pictures or Siiidy's trusty steed. hobby horses and rocking horses to home knits on the equine theme. it‘s a gentle trot through kiddies horsey
imagery. l-‘oi‘ Deborah Holland. it‘s a present day quandary on laslrion. l'rlm
arid art that seems to have got her to shovv her naked back-side to the camera
; in numerous locations: the back (via
Range Rover. outside a tenetiient block: anyvv here perhaps she could do a qtrick pull-dovvn and hitch tip. (Stisanna Beattttrontl
Pony tails: Brigid Teehan’s equine fantasy land
70 The List l9 Apr-2 May I996