VisualArt Joanna Lyczko, ‘Octopi’
REVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY FUTUREPROOF 2011 Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, until Sun 9 Oct ●●●●●
Futureproof profiles a cross section of work by graduates from the five Scottish university photography departments. Louise Menmuir’s photographs are particularly striking and feature a young girl in contemporary attire engaged with old fashioned childhood resourcefulness – travelling back to when toys were luxuries and children made do with discarded objects. Appearing instantly iconic, her images marry the old and the new in natural light.
Equally enchanting are Song Yun Kim’s blurry
images that appear almost trapped underneath the surface of the picture plane. This technique obstructs our perception so that we squint our eyes and move up close to view the picture from different angles.
Through a wide angled view, Daniel Cook has depicted a desolate scene of a Scottish landscape
after the Highland Clearances. Here wildlife has taken over what remains of human habitation, leaving the exquisite intensity of the wild landscape intact. In contrast to Cook’s atmospheric landscape is Antonia Spagnoletti’s series of vibrant cityscapes after dark. Characters appear life-like in the maquettes that play out little scenarios of lovers kissing outside after closing time, people having drinks at the social and seedy exchanges taking place in back allies. Dim light falls through beautifully to illuminate the parts that Spagnoletti chooses to focus on. These carefully constructed textured details give life to the characters to portray a spectrum of emotions – some humorous, others sad, some joyful.
Other highlights include Rosalind Dallas’
reconstructed locations of her childhood through ethereal surroundings, Fabien Marques’ series of exotic bedrooms, and Sofia Silva’s ‘10227 Days of Lost Affection’ where she has chosen to show one image from the first 28 years of her life. (Talitha Kotzé)
REVIEW PAINTING/DRAWING/VIDEO SMILE Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh until Sun 28 Aug ●●●●●
Between the Spangles wrapper psychedelia of its poster to the feeble collection of art in the gallery, Smile does nothing to live up to its name. Riffing off ill-conceived ideas honed from (a misunderstanding of) the Fluxus movement and the writings of Michael Houellebecq, Smile promises edification and abeyance but delivers anything but. On entering the subterranean space you encounter Michael Krueger’s
‘Lil Buggie’, which are teenage drawings on paper of naked people on graffiti-covered rocks. Into the main gallery and the one decent piece, Sach Kahir’s ‘Mick Jagger Hates You’, is an installation of three TV screens on top of each other screening slowed-down 1960s footage (Altamont possibly), while the bottom screen presents the sunshine hippie dream. To the left, on a small screen, Michael Krueger’s animations are
amateurish and on the back wall Sophie Lisa Beresford’s photograph portrait ‘Hindu Goddess’ is just a pointless and lazy self-portrait. Which brings us to Ronnie Heeps’ round ‘Kaleidoscope’ paintings with their fish head, tentacle and stamen forms. They are pretty and bold for sure, but in this grubby space, bad karma smothers them. (Paul Dale)
136 THE LIST 25 Aug–22 Sep 2011
list.co.uk/visualart
HITLIST THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
Live Your Questions Now A celebration of experience, focusing on artists over the age of 60, in reaction to the art world’s youth fads. Featured veterans include Alasdair Gray and Sam Ainsley. Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow School of Art, until Sat 1 Oct.
Edinburgh Art Festival August is drawing to a close but there’s still time to see the highly rated shows, included the Elizabeth Blackadder retrospective and David Mach’s Precious Light. See Festival Art section, page 59. Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 28 Aug.
Karen Cunningham & Zara Idelson: Early Relativity Glasgow School of Art graduate Zara Idelson shows paintings and interventions alongside the work of established Glasgow-based artist Karen Cunningham. The Duchy, Glasgow, until Sat 3 Sep.
Futureproof Captivating cross section of work by graduates of the five Scottish university photography departments. See review, left. Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, until Sun 9 Oct.
Peace at Last! Artist Kate Davis creates work that responds to the Glasgow Museums’ Collection, focusing both on political history with feminist narratives and the archiving process. Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, until Sun 16 Oct.
Gary Rough: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc The Glasgow-born, New York- based artist unveils the results of his recent residency at Sorcha Dallas. Reviewed next issue. Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow, Fri 2 Sep–Fri 7 Oct.
Alan Reid: Boudoir Concrete The New York- based artist combines collage, drawing and painting in his delicate images. Reviewed next issue. Mary Mary, Glasgow, Sat 3 Sep–Sat 22 Oct.
Missing Graham Fagen creates a video installation to complement the National Theatre of Scotland’s adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s novel The Missing. See preview, page 133. Tramway, Glasgow, Tue 13 Sep–Sun 2 Oct.
For
Edinburgh Festival art see page 59