Visual Art
‘IT'S A STRANGE MIX OF ELATION AND DISAPPOINTMENT ALL AT ONCE’
Cartier
The lord of misrule
Claire Mitchell talks to Peter Liversidge about scuffed trainers, Squirrel Nutkins
and his ersatz paper Rolex
really want a certain toy. but can’t have it. so
you make your own version instead.‘ says London—based artist I’eter Liversidge of his own homemade versions of everyday and perhaps not—so- everyday things. from cardboard (‘anon cameras. to ‘fake‘ paper Rolex watches and maladroit watercolour renderings of the usually sharp logos of luxury automobiles. There really is a very childlike quality to
‘ It‘s kind of like when you are a child. and you
Liversidge’s idiosyncratic counterfeits. a number of
which make up part of his upcoming show. For They Know No! What They Do. at Iidinburgh‘s Inglehy (iallery. ‘By taking away the mass produced element. you kind of make it your own. Like when you scuff a brand new pair of trainers. they lose that brand new untainted quality and become uniquely yours. It‘s a strange mix of elation and disappointment all at once.’
Liversidge has worked in a variety of media. from drawing and painting to sculpture. installation and even performance. all tinged with his own unique sense of seemingly innocent charm that cleverly pushes you in the direction of finding answers to fundamental questions without you even really noticing.
This lulling sense of merriment in Liversidge‘s work led to him being christened lord of Misrule at The I‘east of I‘ools‘ during last year‘s Festival. This after all is a man that impinged on the gravitas of the stoically (ieorgian lngleby (iallery by releasing a host of London spiders in the gallery. He also used his charming demeanour to persuade the gallery staff to dress up as woodland creatures for a day. Talk about shocking the so—callcd bourgeoisie out of their
90 THE LIST 'i/ Q". Ma, Lil/if
complacency.
While Squirrel Nutkins unfortunately won‘t be making an appearance this time round. there will be a very distinct representation of wildlife in this show. 'I‘axidermy in the form of a llarris hawk and a little stuffed robin will be perched in the gallery. ‘I wanted to play with people’s perceptions of wild animals. It‘s something we think we have a grasp on. We rarely experience nature for what it really is. but rather our own tenuous interpretation of it.‘
A series of small watercolours of the Montana Plains also point to our need to condense nature into much more manageable forms. 'I lived in Montana for a while. but never visited the Plains. so these are completely imagined landscapes but in a tradition and medium that people Iind easy to internalise.‘
Another aspect of the show will be an ongoing artwork. a daily documentation of the performances Liversidge will be creating in Switzerland during Art
Basel —- including a trawling of the rubbishy depths of
the Rhine. and an invitation to have any statement translated into one of II Iiuropean languages by a conference interpreter. As soon as these happen. they will almost simultaneously appear in Iidinburgh through the magic of email.
It might seem as if this show is a mish-mash of cheeky pranks. amateurish draughtsmaninip and crestfallen taxidermy. but actually Liversidge is astutely nudging us towards paying a little more attention to the way in which we try to shrink the world around us into more docile bite sized pieces.
For They Know Not What They Do, lngleby Gallery, Edinburgh. Sat 12 May-Sat 23 Jun.
Ilit , .
THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
>1: Roderick Buchanan: Hletrlonlcs As part of the Blind Faith: Contemporary Art and Human Rights series of events at GoMA, Roderick Buchanan takes a personal view of the sectarian past and present in Glasgow, representing both sides of the abominable equation equally, and showing that we are all the same in our differences. See review, page 91. Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, until Sun 28 Oct.
* Alex Pollard: Black Marks The Glasgow-based 2005 Venice Biennale contributor continues his examination of artistry and artifice, this time focusing on the Pierrot clown figure and the way that teenagers and twentysomethings used make- up to reveal and conceal aspects of their subjectivity during the new Romantic trend in the 19803. See review, page 91. Talbot Rice Gallery, the University of Edinburgh, until Sat 2 Jun.
3:: Peter Liversidge: For They Know Not What They Do Liversidge returns to the gallery after last year’s “Festival Proposal’, where members of staff were asked to dress up as furry cartoon characters and plant carrots. His new work continues his fascination with the mediated ‘great outdoors’, and includes paintings and an installation relating to his enduring fascination with the North Montana Plains. See preview, opposite. lngleby Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sat 23 Jun.
>i< Sara Barker A new exhibition of wall-based sculptural work by the Glasgow-based artist. Materials are continually broken down and re-worked by the artist, revealing and concealing the actions of the maker and the ‘thth’ of the materials. This work continues her interest in character and disguise, self deception and weakness. Mary Mary, Glasgow, until Sat 16 Jun.