‘WE'RE HEADING FOR
ECOLOGICAL DISASTER AND
IT'S HARDLY MENTIONED'
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Gone with the wind
DALZIEL & SCULLION tell Jack Mottram about their new work, inspired by that most controversial of green energy generators.
l't’ufli Taking is the latest project by Dundee- based duo Dal/.iel & Scullion. It is an image that will be distributed across the UK on advertising hoardings. commissioned by Huntley-based body
Deveron Arts. and it considers wind farms. the web of
issues surrounding them. from energy conservation to conspicuous consumption. ‘We are getting a lot of wind farms in the local area.‘ says Claudia Seiske of l)e\eron Arts. ‘and when talking to local people. we found that the main thing for many was that the farms are a visual problem.‘ Dal/.iel & Scullion have long considered the relationship between man and the enviromnent. making them a natural choice for the task.
‘We thought it was interesting that when you see an image of a wind farm. it flags up a lot of the things we‘re already interested in when it comes to the landscape.’ says Mathew Dalziel. ‘first of all. you think of energy. then landscape and. when you go a bit deeper. you think of global warming. We wanted to bring those three — energy. landscape and global warming — into the work. to get people to reflect on
them. rather than just focus on the notion of turbines. of
the wind farms themselves.‘ This is not. though. a carnpargning work. Instead. Dalziel & Scullion are
aiming to foster debate. with the final image ~— a trio of
turbines. with a fotrrth lying prone on a trailer and a field of turnips in the foreground —— a subtle alternatiye image to those produced by vested interests. ‘We tried to create an evocative image.‘ says Dal/iel. ‘()ne that gives access to different areas of thought. liyen the turnips in the image suggest that the land is like a factory for producing food: a big place that we exploit.
But there's no message on it. jtrst the image. so the viewer has to think. “Do I like this thing. or don't 11’"
the use of billboards for display in [treat/r Taking furthers this aim to expose wider environmental arguments. 'A gallery artwork might tiller down slowly into the public consciousness.‘ says |)al/iel. ‘But a billboard has an immediate effect. they also engage with the politics of the issue. the media and marketing of it and. with two of the billboards in Scotland sited in railway stations. we haye the idea of trayel systems and commuting -- altogether. it felt like an apt way to address the issue.‘
While they‘re no strangers to siting work in public spaces (their best known piece. "the llorn‘. sits alongside the .Vlti motorway) Brent/r 'I‘ukiirg could be seen as a new move for Dal/tel & Scullion. Where in the past the pair hate investigated changing perceptions of the natural world or encroaching urbanisation. their latest project shifts frotn exarrrination to direct provocation. ‘We‘re heading for ecological disaster. and it’s hardly mentioned.‘ says Dal/iel. ‘lt's left to the scientists at the moment. they do their work. which only reaches the public as dull. dry lists. 'l'hat's where an artist can come in: making these things visible. trying to get people to have a stake in them. Maybe these issues are best outside of daily politics. where people can speak rrrore freely. We're having a go. at least.‘
On billboardsiin Central Station, Glasgow and Waverly Station in Edinburgh, from Sun 22 May-Sun 5 Jun
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Francis Bacon: Portraits and Heads lhe summer show opens with a sizzle as paint is pushed. pulled, scraped and stroked. Over 50 portraits, mainly of the Bacon's Soho crowd form the exhibitior r‘s core. See feature. page 14. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Sat 4 Jun- Sun 4 Sep.
y Beck’s Futures 2005 The cash-rich prize comes from London's ICA to deck the halls with boughs of film, painting, sculpture and perfume. Luke Fowler, of the Modern Institute. and Donald Urquhart of Durnfries notoriety. were pipped at the post by Christina McKee but the mix is an interesting one. CCA, Glasgow, Sat 28 May-Sun 70 Jul.
Vlctorla Morton Abstract painting revealing a new self- assurance from this Glasgow- based artist who has produced her latest work from Italy -- light, colour, warmth ~« who‘d have thought it? See review, page 101. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until Sun 29 May Evergreen Drawing on archives of 18th century botanical drawings and exhibitions from the last 20 years, silver ribbons by Carl Andre rub shoulders with painting by Agnes Martin and texts by Douglas Gordon. ~i he frictions are electric. lnver/eith House, Edinburgh, until Sun 3 Jul. llana Halperln Halperin invited friends and family to join her at a volcano in Iceland that last erupted on the year of her birth. The work on diSplay is a result of this visit and spins tales that connect with the landscape — humanly, geographically and historically. See review, page 100. doggerfis/ier, Edinburgh, until Sat 4 Jun.
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